


Bondage

by Dragusha



Category: Orange is the New Black
Genre: F/F, Light BDSM
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-12
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2017-12-26 09:22:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 21
Words: 94,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/964288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragusha/pseuds/Dragusha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"She’s here Alex" You’ve been pacing back and forth this lawn since 2am, dreading and fearing this moment to come. You will never be ready for this. You’re nerves are killing you, But there’s no turning back now. She’s here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“She’s here miss”  
You’ve been pacing back and forth this lawn since 2am, dreading and fearing this moment to come. You will never be ready for this. You’re nerves are killing you, it’s always been this way. You may appear tough and confident but your weak stomach has always been there to get you, feeling like you’re going to vomit every time you’re engulf with such emotions.  
But this is not just mere emotions that you’d feel when you’ve fucked up something in your family business and your father, the only person who terrifies you might know. This is something else, much bigger, something you’d go to jail the rest of your life for.  
But there’s no turning back now. She’s here.  
Wasn’t this what you wanted? Yes. To see her, to be able to meet her, you’ve been longing so much for this, spending so many sleepless nights thinking what it’s like just to hold her hand. Yes, this is what you’ve been wanting all along but not this way. Not through this terrible way.  
But what is right and what you want does not always coincide and it pains you to be this kind of monster to resort into doing such terrible act but you must have what you want and what you want is her.  
You’ve always wondered what is it about her that has you so wrapped up in this web. This mystery on why you’re just so drawn to her being, when come to think of it she isn’t typically the kind of girl you would go for if you see her someplace else or something. Maybe that’s the answer then ‘cause she’s not like any other girls that would fall easily on your antics, on games that you’ve mastered playing in girls that are in the same circle as yours.  
She’s different. The distance separating you couldn’t faze you at how badly you just want to feel her. Not only sexually but mentally and emotionally.You’re not one to believe in soul mates and all that crap, you’re not saying that the two of you are but you feel like your soul knows her, always misses her that’s why your mind cannot understand and explain why this is happening to you.  
You know there are many other reasons and that’s what you’ve been dying to discover and perpetually pushed you to do this whole thing in the first place.  
But could you still do all those things now, when you’ve asked your men to take her and steal her for you.  
“Miss Alex?”  
You snap out from your thoughts, you’ve forgotten that your maid is still standing there at the side waiting for you to tell her what to do.  
“Tell the men to meet me at the den”  
/  
You chose to bring her here, on your island cause it’s far from the city where not a lot of people would notice anything that might suspect you of doing something formidably bad like this. No one would hear her scream or if she ever does try to escape, there’s really not much place to go before she can be caught again.  
Your family must not know, like how they’ve never known throughout all these years that you’ve dabbled in some illegal activities before and only you and John, your most trusted right hand man only knows the secrets to these things.  
As you slowly approach your destination into this part of the house you can already see John and his men at the den waiting for you. You hope he doesn’t notice how nervous you are.  
You noticed at once that she’s not there standing with them.  
“where.. where is she?” the one question you’ve been fidgeting to say ever since the men left for this crazy mission.  
You didn’t notice a woman’s figure with a black cloth covering her head on the side and only then when one of the men turned around and yanked her arms too forcefully for your liking so she can stand in front of you that her presence fills the entire room and you can’t deny that this is really happening and she’s here in front of you. He pushed her again so she can move closer.  
“Be careful with her! or I swear to God I’d beat the shit out of you with my bear hands!”  
If you didn’t want them to find out that you’re in a rollercoaster of emotions right now then certainly that sudden burst of anger and the tremble in your voice when you shouted definitely gave it away.  
But John knows you very well, he immediately steps up and took control of the situation knowing fully well that you were not joking when you said you’d beat one of his men and went behind her, looked at you and waited for a go signal to remove the black cloth over your hostage.  
Hostage, what a word to call her when in reality it was you, whom this person has kept hostage mentally over the months that you’ve been longing for her.  
You slowly nod to give your approval.  
When he finally removed the cloth covering her head what you saw made your stomach twist in pain like you’ve were kicked in the guts. You will forever torment yourself for ever causing this image that is right before your eyes.  
You see her with a gag on her mouth, she looks so fragile that all you want to do is scoop her into your arms and make her feel better. Her face is all red, fear written all over her round eyes. It made you curse at yourself at how selfish you could be. Not selfish, selfish is such a small word to describe how you could do this to her. You’re evil.  
How could you do this to the one person, you’ve only thought of caring for and not causing one bit of pain. You remembered how you repeatedly told her that you only want her to be happy. We’ll is this happiness for you?  
You’re so full of remorse that you don’t remember how much time has passed and you were just frozen in your step.  
You stared into her eyes, looking for some sort of recognition, does she know who you are?  
Even though she is clearly afraid but when she saw you looking at her, she held your gaze straight, not blinking even once. You can see rage in her pupils. So transfixed by her intense look and feeling somewhat proud at the braveness she’s currently exhibiting, you didn’t notice your feet carrying you closer to her. So close that you can see clearly and draw out the lines of her tears. Like your feet, your limbs also took control of your body and you see your hands reaching out to her face but as soon as it almost lands on her cheeks, she turns her head to the side so you can’t touch her. Her eyes flashing disgusts over your touch.  
You hate how you feel so hopeless into aiding her pain but how can you help her when it is you causing it.  
This made you silently spoke and swore to yourself with hands gripping your robe, almost willing all the saints and whoever it is you pray to, to listen to this plea ‘please forgive me Pipes, forgive me for doing this. I will do everything, everything to erase that hate in your eyes.’  
After a few seconds, you suddenly remembered that you two are not alone in this room, John and his men are still watching this whole scene that’s happening before them and your eyes went straight to the man who was a little rough on Piper awhile ago and your blood starts to boil again when you saw him smile a little. Maybe it was from the intense emotion that you’ve been feeling since this morning that you couldn’t stop yourself from walking up to him and slapped him hard on the face.  
“Get out of my face now!”  
After having someone to spill your anger into, you try to control your breathing and be calm before you face Piper once again.  
Thinking of her name, you suddenly remember if she has eaten already, how that travelling may have exhausted her, knowing how easily she gets tired or how hungry she must be.  
/  
“Clean her up and try to feed her something”  
You see your maid nod after giving her your instructions. She’s an old lady, she has been with you for a very long time. You can see in her eyes that she disapproves in whatever this is that you’re doing. You have always felt that she has treated you like her very own child, maybe taking pity at how you were always left alone with her when you were just a small kid. She never says anything, just gives her signature shaking of the head when she sees something you’re doing that has disaster written all over it.  
You turn to John and said “you, help her in doing that” but John is more like a friend than just a man working for you so you add a ‘please’ after a second of saying it.  
“Where do you want us to take her after?”  
You pause for a minute as if considering other rooms to place her but you’ve known all along ever since the first moment you started this.  
“In my room” His face changes after he hears your answer, as if it’s dawning on him what this is all about now.  
You didn’t give him enough reason on why you ask him to take this job and like any other jobs you ask him to do, he just does it, coming from what he swore to you that he would offer you his life after you save him a long time ago.  
“Tie her into my bedpost” he nods and turns his back, carrying Piper into his arms, your maid Miss Claudette following his steps but before they could turn into a corner, you call out once more.  
“uhhm..” you can see their faces, waiting for what you’re going to say. “Be gentle with her”  
John just nods, confirming the suspicions that he has with that last words that you said.  
/  
You can still see your hands shaking from what happened earlier, you need something to calm your nerves. You suddenly crave for that one thing you love so much but left the habit two years ago. You need to have one now.  
You went back to the den, spotting one of the men smoking while waiting for John’s return and asked him to hand you the whole pack. He hesitated a little, knowing there’s not a store nearby to buy a new one but he knows better to refuse what you’re asking. You may be a woman but you own all these men. After taking the cigarettes you made a mental note to tell John to give this man a small bonus, a small payback for knowing his place.  
You returned to the lawn and grabbed the tequila that you left there earlier and took it to sit in the veranda just in front of where the lawn is situated.  
The first puff is heavenly, sucking up the smoke, letting it fill your lungs and pushing it out again through your nostrils, the rest of it you let out through your mouth. You watch the fine smoke mix with the night time air as you blew it out of your mouth, disappearing as it mixes with the wind that just blew by.  
You would have wanted to personally do all those things to her.  
To clean her up and wash her face from the dirt that has formed from the mixture of her tears and the dust that must have found its way to her during the long travel to this island. To be able to replace that crumpled & damp shirt she was wearing with a fresh new one. To slowly remove her sweats, gently grazing the skin on her thighs, oh god, you stop your thoughts right there. You shouldn’t think about that right now.  
Would you be able to handle having her in your room? Looking at her that way, with hatred in her eyes. She will probably fight you with all her might and for as long as she can. Do you really think you can convince her to change her mind about you, knowing how terrible this thing you’re doing to her.  
You have never wanted anything more in your entire life. To make her see that you are not this evil monster that she surely is thinking about right now.  
As you slowly finish the tequila bottle, it became clearer to you that you will make this your sole mission, to let her see that there is this other side to you that maybe she could learn to like. You know it will take time but you swore you will do it with all the patience, even though you are an impatient woman but you will do anything in your power to make her see that.  
/  
“How was she?” you ask your Miss Claudette as you see her exiting your room and is now coming towards you.  
“She’s exhausted. She didn’t try to fight much”  
Not needing much from her, you begin to walk past her but the hesitation on her body language, like she wants to tell you something made you look at her once again. Her old face etched with concern.  
“Alex, what are you doing? I’m afraid..”  
“Stop! I don’t remember asking for your opinion so keep it to yourself” you know, she’s only watching out for you but you don’t like it when she calls you out on your bullshit.  
You already know how big this trouble you have caused but you will find a way to turn this around without people telling you that you don’t know what you’re doing.  
She just turned around, shaking her head to herself again as she goes to her quarters.  
Your feet seem to weigh a ton as you walk through the dark corridors going to your room.  
You pause for a minute outside your door, bracing yourself for what you will see inside.  
You slowly turn the knob, trying so hard not to make a slightest sound from doing it. When you peak inside, you see her on your bed, her head turned sideways and her hair is covering her face. You can’t make out if she’s asleep or not.  
As you near the bed, you see her chest breathing evenly which indicates that she has fallen asleep. Her hands are tied to the both sides of the bed, arms stretching and the same with her feet, spreading wide on your bed, her body placed in the middle.  
You reach out slowly to move her hair from her face, moving it super slow so your touch won’t awake her. You see the cloth covering her mouth and you remove it, she must be really exhausted because she didn’t even flinch when you untied the knot. When you feel how rough the cloth is, you silently curse at John for not choosing a softer one. Well you can’t really blame him, type of cloths to use in her were not included in your instructions.  
Now that you can see her face, you just stare at her for what feels like an eternity. Her hair sprawled out on the pillow, you take notice of each of her features. Her pronounced chin, her cheeks up to her nose. She’s now dressed with a silky white night gown cut just above her knee. It’s yours, your maid must have chosen this knowing how you rarely use it.  
You startle a bit when she moves her head to the other side, making a loose tendril fall across her face.  
Looking at this brought back a memory of one conversation you had with her.  
“Can you tuck your hair for me?”  
“I already did”  
You remember the tingle that you felt with that miniscule act, to think she was miles away from you then and it still brought you to feel that way. How you’ve always wished to be beside her so you can do it yourself.  
She’s here. The thought excites, worries, terrifies you all at the same time but there’s also this one emotion, you’ve been feeling at the pit of your stomach that you feel guilty of having.  
Happiness.  
Despite the turmoil of all the other emotions brings, you feel happy that she’s here. It is the reason why you push back all the other right sensibilities that you have outside the window because you are happy that she’s here.  
Remorse and all the guilt are trampled by the happiness that her presence brings.  
You take that one loose tendril and very, very slowly tuck it behind her ears. You can’t stop the tip of your index finger from letting it run all the way from the back of her ear to the side of her neck, running it down to her collarbone. The warmth on her skin, runs to the tip of your finger, transmitting it to every parts of your body, stopping at the bottom of your stomach, where every emotions somehow starts and ends with you.  
She inhaled a deep breath at that last touch. Did she feel it in her sleep?  
You step back a little, scared that you might have woken her.  
Oh the thoughts that must be running on her mind. You hope your last touch would somehow seep inside her heart letting her understand that you mean her no harm.  
She looks so peaceful sleeping right now and you don’t want to think what will happen tomorrow when she wakes up.  
You decided to sit on the couch beside the bed and dragged it a little to the side, making it face the bed. You just watch her sleeping form, hoping she’s not having nightmares at the moment. 

/  
You woke up to the strain that you feel in your neck, it’s so stiff from the position you slept with the whole night, leaning your head on the couch arm chair. You’ve forgotten how long it took you to finally doze off but the last thing you saw before you finally close your eyes was Piper’s sleeping form.  
You immediately become alert when you’re thoughts reminded you what situation and who’s in it is currently waiting for you when you wake up.  
You snap your attention to the bed and your heart races upon seeing her staring at you.  
She’s awake!  
You try to sit up straight and check yourself and how you look like at the moment. A little conscious at the current position she has caught you in. You hope a little that you didn’t drool while you were sleeping but that thought seems ridiculous to be worried about thinking there are bigger issues here, more pressing than you drooling while asleep.  
How long has she been awake and staring at you? How could you overslept this long? You remembered specifically reminding yourself that you should wake up early so you can put back a tie around her mouth again, fearing what she will say or worse, waking up to her shouting in the middle of the night.  
Not knowing what to say or do with her just looking at you with an unreadable face. You stood up so you can see what time it is and saw that it’s already thirty minutes past 9 in the morning.  
Fuck! How could you have overslept this late?  
You can see her eyes not leaving you, watching intently your every move.  
Technically what do you tell a person you’ve kidnapped on your first official meeting?  
Do you introduce yourself and shake hands after? You didn’t go through the possible things that might happen before she got here. How ultimately strange this all is, to be standing here right now in front of her.  
All you thought about was to get her and deal with the rest of it when she’s already here.  
“What the fuck are you doing?!”  
That voice, low and a little hoarse from not being able to talk since yesterday but uttered with much force broke you from your inner dialogue with yourself.  
It’s the first time you’ve heard her speak and you just want to hear her voice again. To talk to her about anything and everything, if only you were in a different circumstances.  
How can you answer that question? When you yourself don’t even understand what you’re doing.  
You decide to ignore her question and tried to act like you’re sure of what you’re doing.  
You went to your drawers and looked for the softest scarf that you own.  
“Why are you doing this?”  
You heard her ask once again and just momentarily close your eyes, your back against her while rummaging through your drawers. When you finally found the right cloth, you turn to make your way to her.  
When you look up to her, you can see her taking deep breaths, it’s obvious how she’s becoming frustrated with you not giving her answers but still trying very hard to control her emotions.  
“Answer me! How can you do this to me?!!”  
That one was close to a shout but still said with much restraint.  
You admire her composure despite of her current situation. You’d be hysterical right now if you were in her place.  
You don’t know how you can hide your eyes when you came closer to tie the scarf around her head to cover her mouth.  
You don’t want her to see that you’re also suffering from seeing her like this ‘cause it’s not the right time yet. You have to earn her trust first. How to do that, you have no idea.  
When she sees what you’re about to do, she tells you with a straight face and a calm voice.  
“You do not have to do that. I’m not going to shout, there’s no point.”  
You almost smiled at what she said, you know she’s smart and she knows it’s useless, knowing that nobody would hear her.  
You can see her mind is working, maybe thinking of ways on how to handle her situation but you don’t know her quite that well yet to recognize her nuances and what each expressions on her face means.  
‘yes, I believe you but I still can’t bear hearing you asking those questions. Not yet’  
So without answering her you bring the scarf around and tied it behind her head.  
/  
After one final thrust of your fingers inside her, you brought her to the edge and she clings her arms around your neck for support as she shouts your name across the room then falls limply on the pillows.  
“you’re so good at that..” she says with that seductive smile of hers and you just give her a plain smile before lying flat on your side, trying to catch your breath.  
You used to find Nicki interesting. Yes she’s hot but she’s really just a body warming your bed from time to time.  
You’ve known her for a long time. Your families both know each other and sometimes spends holidays and vacations together.  
She knows you’re always here when you’re not in the city. Imagine your surprise when she just showed up this morning unannounced. You have brought her here before and spent the whole day fucking inside your room or just laying in the sand. Back when you thought you liked her, when she still didn’t show her cattiness and how manipulative she was.  
But this story is not about her so let’s just leave it at that.  
She turned to your side and starts kissing your neck again, you welcomed it knowing how she can go on and on in bed but her movements halts when you both hear a knock on the door.  
You shouted irritatingly “What!?” and hear John’s voice on the other side of the door.  
“It’s important” you know he would never interrupt you if it wasn’t so you stood up and slip into your robe.  
“why are you using the guest room? Is there something wrong with your room?” you heard Nicki ask and watch her on the bed with her head propped up on her hands.  
“it’s being renovated, I’ll be right back”  
When you stepped outside, you noticed John’s looking at you with a questioning look on his face.  
You wait for him for almost 30 seconds to say what he’s about to say and when he doesn’t, your irritation doubles.  
“did you just call me so we can have a staring contest out here on the corridor?!”  
“She’s asking for you..”  
You saw a disappointed look on his face after he says that, as if he’s saying ‘how can you entertain a guest when you have a hostage hidden in your room’.  
You immediately feel something being twisted inside your stomach, knowing whose the she he means.  
It’s been three days since you’ve last seen her. You transferred to the guest room ‘cause you can’t handle seeing her with those questions and contempt in her eyes. You thought you could but like any other obstacles you’ve encountered, you have always stepped back before diving with your head first to solve a problem. Others can’t understand this method of yours, they think you’re avoiding your problems but you’ve really looked at it like an arrow being pulled back to better aim for the bull’s eye, you’ve always worked around things this way.  
“why?! What does she want?”  
“I don’t know, she seems restless the past two days”  
“did you put on all the Friend’s episode for her to watch?”  
“Yes” he paused before continuing “and..”  
“What?!” you just can’t with how he’s keeping you at the edge already.  
“She’s been crying a lot today”  
That last sentence changed your mind and made you decide that maybe it’s time to give her a visit.  
“Take care of Nicki for me” He nods and leave you to do what you have to do.  
/  
You see her with her head leaning on her knees that’s folded to her chest. John has replaced her ties with longer ones so she can move around a bit but still both her hands and feet are tied to the four corners of the bed that’s bolted to the ground so she can’t escape.  
Her gaze immediately snaps to you when she hears you approaching.  
Her blonde disheveled hair hanging loosely on her shoulders and the pink rim around her eyes tells you that she has been crying a lot.  
Looking at her appearance right now even in such disarray, you still feel drawn to her. Confirming once again that what you feel for her is far more than physical attraction.  
“You asked for me?”  
She nods and swallows a lump in her throat before saying  
“Let me talk to my family..” she says weakly then you see a lone tear drops from her eyes and she quickly wipes it with the back of her hand.  
Right there you contemplate of just letting her go.  
But all the trouble that your men went through will be for nothing and you haven’t even started the sole purpose of all this. You harden your heart, took a deep breath and you start a charade that made you harder than what you really project to be.  
“you know that’s hard for me to do—“ you were cut short from what you were about to say.  
“I swear I won’t say anything, I just don’t want them to worry about me.”  
You watch her face, gaging her expression if she’s telling the truth. She could be plotting something that you don’t know and you can’t take risks.  
But what got you is her blue eyes begging you to take pity on her and agree to this small request.  
“okay, you can send them an email telling them what you want to say but you will be watch while you do it the whole time”  
/  
“where’s her lunch?!” you’re in the kitchen asking Miss Claudette, your maid what she prepared Piper for lunch.  
“I’m about to take this to her” she said while preparing the stir fried noodles, putting a serving on the plate. It’s one of her specialty and you always ask her to cook it on your birthdays.  
“No, I’ll do it.” She looked at you like you suddenly grew two heads but she knows better than to say anything and just hands you the plate.  
“fetch me a bottle of wine with this plate, bring it to my room and just leave it there. I will change from these robes first”  
When you finished changing into a shorts and a white sleeveless shirt, you enter your room and saw right away the tray of food, bottle of wine and the two glasses for it.  
She has her attention fix on the t.v but you’re quite sure she heard you when you entered the room. You carefully took the plate and carried it on the way to the bed.  
You saw her eye move to the side, telling you that she’s aware of your intentions but her head and whole body remained motionless on the bed and right away she turns her focus on the show when she sees you’re approaching.  
“Lunch?” you try to say with a very sure and clear voice to mask the nervousness that you always feel around her.  
She doesn’t even turn to acknowledge you, just keeps her attention on the tv and tells you curtly “im not hungry.”  
You try so hard not to be impatient with how she’s acting and instead you tell her in a very commanding voice.  
“Just eat.”  
You’re always used to getting what you want that you forgot she’s not one of your people that you can just boss around.  
You want to do this so much, to prove to yourself that you can make her eat something.  
You tighten her ropes so she can’t move as much, afraid of what she might unexpectedly do before proceeding again to get the plate.  
Unsure where to place yourself, you just choose to sit on the side of the bed, separating you more than half a meter distance from her.  
Butterflies started to flutter with the closeness of her proximity, it’s like there’s an automatic switch that only her presence controls and the butterflies come to life inside your tummy whenever something’s happening that involves her. Quite the opposite though with the actions that she’s showing when all this time she still has her attention on the television, never taking her eyes off it.  
A little irritated that you’re being ignored when to think, you wouldn’t even consider doing this just with anyone but at once, you remind yourself once again that she’s here because of your doing in the first place.  
You try to put your patience in check and carefully scoop a little of the stir fried noodles and reach out to bring it closer to her mouth.  
When she turns her head away, making it clear that you can’t make her do things she doesn’t want, your patience starts to dwindle and you drop the spoon on the plate, stood up, went to the t.v and turned it off and right away march back to the bed. Although the moment your butt lands on it, your gaze locks with hers ‘cause she now has turned all her attention to you.  
You start to feel uneasy under the hold of her eyes. Wasn’t this what you wanted, to have her full attention?  
Yes. But not with that unreadable face and unwavering eyes, fully fix on you.  
You think you may have annoyed her when you abruptly turned off the tv but she’s doing so good in trying to hide it and now she’s waiting to see what you’re planning to do.  
You try not to squirm on your seat, you can’t let her see that she affects you this much.  
You try so hard to control your nerves when you picked up the spoon again but when you do, your fingers starts to harden and you lose control of the spoon, dropping it to the floor.  
Fuck! Just this once, why can’t you’re fucking nerves cooperate with you.  
You did not bother picking the spoon up and when you returned your eyes to her, you can see something has changed in it. She’s thinking of something. You hope she doesn’t detect how you’re a total wreck around her.  
You act like nothing’s wrong and you use the fork instead to try to continue on feeding her. You’re surprise to see that she’s being cooperative this time and she takes the food and you watch her chew on it.  
You can’t help but feel some sort of achievement on being able to feed her. After taking three more servings, you remembered that you also brought her some wine.  
“would you like some wine?” she nods and you feel so much lighter on your way to get it at how well things are going.  
After pouring a sufficient amount into the glass, you return to her side but you saw she has her head down this time.  
“here..” Your big sultry voice made her look up, leaving some of her hair still covering her face. Seeing that she can’t properly reach her face to getsome of her hair out, you pause for a moment, contemplating to be the one to fix it.  
‘Nerves don’t fucking mess with me’  
You place the glass on the table and turn to kneel on the bed so you can reach out to move her hair to the side.  
She looks at you straight in the eyes, anticipating what you’re about to do. If you didn’t know any better, she seems like she’s measuring you and analyzing your every move.  
When your fingertips touches her skin and you feel how warm and soft it is, a small spark runs to your body sending tingles deep inside you.  
Her gaze on you, never wavering as you move her hair, tucking some of it behind her ear.  
Doing this while she’s asleep is far more different compared to how it is now that she’s awake. It’s like she has discovered that she somehow has this big effect on you with the way she’s observing your every move.  
Her face is now free from her hair but your hands are frozen behind her ear.  
You jump from your stance when she says.  
“Can I go to the bathroom?”  
Withdrawing your hand quickly, you shake your head to regain focus and stood up. Thinking of a way on how to help her go to the cr. John and Miss Claudette were always the one who handled this part, you were about to call them when you remembered that you sent them to the grocery to fetch some things.  
You assess the situation and you reached to a decision that maybe it’s okay for you to do this alone.  
You took out the keys from your back pocket which John left you earlier and unlock the bolts that’s keeping the rope in place and you take hold of it as firmly as you can. She quickly stood up and you back away so she can move pass you, her feet can’t move longer strides ‘cause it’s tied but she can still walk with very small steps and her wrists are tightly tied together.  
When she has her back at you, you immediately drank all the wine to calm your nerves from being so close to her earlier and quickly poured yourself another one.  
Once she’s inside, you wait for her outside the door.  
“I need a little help” you heard her faint voice say.  
‘Oh God, does she need help with what I think she needs help with?’  
You place the glass of wine on the sink and you make your way to her. Maybe it’s right to leave Mercy to do these things, does she really think you can pull down her panties without fainting?  
You took a deep breathand just did it quickly so your mind can’t catch up, fearing you’d freeze again and you can’t do that when she’s about to pee.  
After pulling her underwear down, you immediately turned around to the sink, catching a glance at yourself in the mirror.  
‘get a grip of yourself! How can you start out on doing your plans if you turn into a mess every time she’s in close proximity with you! You’re always good in taking control so pull yourself together you idiot!’  
“I’m finished”  
When you heard her say that you turn your head down so she can’t see that you have your eyes close while you speed your actions by pulling her underwear up. You return to the sink to wash your hands and when you finish, you were caught off guard when you turned around and see that she’s standing very, very close to you. So close that you can even feel the puffs of air coming from her breathing.  
What is she doing?!  
Her eyes staring deep into you, like hands reaching into the depths of your soul, keeping you in this daze.  
After a few seconds of that, you can’t help but look down to her lips and your knees almost buckles into the ground when she slightly parts it open. You feel your surroundings has stopped moving and all you can sense is how you’re slowly leaning towards her, being pulled like a magnet, wanting nothing but just to have a taste of those lips.  
When your lips almost touch hers, you didn’t have enough time to process what happened ‘cause everything went so fast and all you feel now is the painful burn in your eyes when she managed to reach for the wine behind your back and splashed it hard to your face.  
You didn’t see her reaching behind you ‘cause you were so busy being mesmerized by her gaze.  
What you also didn’t know was she managed to free her feet when she quickly snatched the keys to your pocket while you were still suffering from the immense pain in your eyes like they were on fire.  
‘Sneaky bitch! Fuck!’  
You didn’t bother going after her, knowing she wouldn’t go that far before some of the men will catch her. You just concentrate on washing the wine off your eyes.  
How could you have thought that you can handle freeing her on your own when things could go wrong like this. You’re such a fool! Maybe deep inside, in your very core, you were kind of hoping that she also wanted to kiss you that you were blinded that it’s only you who feels this way for her.  
She tricked you! You didn’t even make it hard for her to do it. The thought hurts you so much like you were slapped on the face. Your wounded ego suddenly brought up these defenses, automatically replacing all your emotions with anger.  
That’s it! If you can’t have her by being gentle then you’ll take her by force. That will show her not to ever think that she can deceive you like this.  
All good reasoning is flying out of the window and maybe you would regret this after but you definitely don’t care now.  
You hurriedly make your way outside to call John but when you reach the outside grounds you see that there’s no need to call him ‘cause he’s already on his way back to the house, carrying Piper over his broad shoulder.  
“Where did you find her?!” you asked angrily.  
But when he sees your red eyes and wet hair his concern immediately shows after seeing your appearance.  
“what happened to you?” he’s really like a brother to you.  
“don’t mind that. Where did you find her!?”  
“she fell over the ties just outside the gate when I was just about to enter” after saying that his concern changes to displeasure when he added “what were you thinking, letting her free!?”  
“we’ll talk about that later!” he doesn’t even know what happened yet and he immediately assumes it’s your fault?! But he doesn’t really have to ‘cause he knows you too well and with the way that he tied her this afternoon, there’s no other way that she could have escape unless you had something to do it.  
This makes your anger all the more boils up over her, you don’t want to look like a fool in John’s eyes.  
“Put her down!” you commanded forcefully, your nostrils flaring from the steam that is cooking up inside you.  
He turns Piper so she can face you and you immediately stepped forward to hold her face roughly, turning it sideways, trying to look for scratch. You don’t even know why you’re still looking for scratches but despite the anger that your’re feeling, you don’t want her harmed.  
You bring her face back to yours and purposefully tighten your grip on her cheeks making it hurt a little, doing this without taking your eyes off her, letting her know that furious at her for making you look and feel like a fool. But to be honest, you were more pained at feeling like a fool, using your weakness so that she can escape. Hurt that she really doesn’t want to kiss you.  
She has caught your weakness ‘cause you were the stupid one who can’t keep your nerves calm around her.  
‘I will show you who’s boss here’  
Releasing her from your tight grip, you turn to John and say.  
“Take her back to my room and tie her hands and feet to the chair!”  
You turned your back at them and hurriedly went inside. You spot Miss Claudette on her way to the kitchen and you snap an order at her letting her know that you’re not in your best moods at the moment.  
“Go with John and clean her up!”

/  
It’s past midnight already when you decided to enter your room. Carrying a half filled bottle of tequila with you, you stumble on your way to it from being too drunk because you have been drinking since this afternoon after the incident.  
“what were you thinking?!” you didn’t know John was behind you.  
‘I was not thinking’ you mumbled to yourself but not loud enough for him to make out something out of it.  
“what?!” he is now in front of you, pouring himself a drink.  
“Nothing” You can’t admit to him that Pamela tricked you. You look up to him and saw he’s just staring at you.  
“Don’t” Don’t tell me I’m stupid.. I have enough goin’ on with myself already, I don’t need anyone else breathing under my neck.  
Talking to yourself has been a favorite hobby of yours lately. You think it’s only a matter of days now before they find out that you’ve actually gone crazy.  
“I did not say anything” a small crack of smile showing on his lips.  
Yeah laugh at me. He’s the only one who can do this to you though. Laugh at your face if you have done something wrong or committed a mistake, you’d be angry at others if they dare as much as smile at something that you’ve done wrong.  
“I knew what you were thinking”  
His face turned serious and he said with voice full of concern.  
“I just hope you know what you’re doing Alex“ He rarely uses your full name and when he does you know he’s worried. He gulps all the contents in his glass and left you to drink alone by yourself again.  
You slam the door when you got inside not even caring if you’ll wake her. The room is dark apart from the dim light coming from the lamp on the bedside table.  
You spot her dark form on the chair turned against you in the corner of the room. You walk slowly and stop just a few feet behind her.  
“I used to imagine you as a cripple sitting on a wheelchair” you pause to drink a large amount of tequila from the bottle before continuing.  
“so if ever I saw you walk in person, it would be like a miracle and I would not be thinking of anything else but just be filled with happiness on seeing you walking towards me” You don’t know why you’re telling her this, you’d definitely not if you were sober. You caught her head move a little and that’s how you knew that she’s awake and she’s listening to you.  
You walk around, swaying in your steps from too much alcohol swarming in your bloodstream and stop in front of her. It’s a little dark but you can still make out her face and the twinkle of light in her eyes caused by the reflection coming from the lamp. When you held her gaze she avoids it by looking down on her lap.  
“Look at me” You snap at her but when she doesn’t, all your anger from this afternoon came rushing back.  
“You were so courageous this afternoon, where is it now huh?!!” Your voice is strong, full of belligerence, challenging her so you can elicit a reaction.  
When she still didn’t look up, you stride to her and took hold of her chin, lifting it up and forced the tequila bottle into her mouth. She swallowed some but the rest she spits into your face.  
You snide a small laugh. “There..there’s the girl that I was looking for”  
She looks so brave right now with her fiery round eyes looking at you with her chest heaving up and down, trying so hard to control her emotions that you can’t help but feel furious, excited and turn on all at the same time just by looking at her right now.  
The alcohol contaminating your blood and the turmoil of emotions you’re currently in is drowning any little good intentions you have left for in your brain, replacing it with the need to show her the pain you felt from feeling rejected and stupid earlier.  
You lean on her with both hands on each side of the chair, face just inches above her.  
“You made a fool out of me” you whisper into her face but she does not scare from your actions but held her gaze on you strongly.  
“so defiant. you need to be taught a lesson” you hiss at her before forcefully slamming your mouth into hers.  
Ugh such soft lips.  
But she’s keeping it tightly close, keeping you from moving further with the kiss and her head is wriggling so much that you have to hold the back of her head so you can keep her lips on your mouth but when you were able to lock her down and you move your lips in a different angle wanting to taste more, she bites it hard making you wince in pain and step back making you fall backwards.  
When you lick your lips, you tasted the small blood coming out of it, wiping it at the back of your hand before standing up again.  
“You wanna play rough huh?!”  
You walk back to her and held her face with both your hands, gripping it roughly and kissed her again, when she yelps a little, you use the opportunity to delve your tongue inside her mouth, having a taste of her silky, wet tongue but not long enough for her to catch a bite at you again. She did try but your now on guard, also you make it difficult for her to do it with your hand gripping her cheeks hard.  
“we will see how disobedient you are once I’m finished with you”  
You suck on her lower lip a little harshly and you can feel her body wriggling beneath you. Her distinct taste, mixed with a little tequila sends shivers to your body all the way down to your center making you hot and very wet.  
You found the scarf tucked on the side of the chair and quickly tied it around her mouth and not even a second that you were gone, you are now once again back to kissing her neck, inhaling her natural scent, filling all your senses with it.  
How you’ve always dream of doing this, day dreaming almost everyday to be able to lay one small kiss even just to her cheeks but right after you thought of that a small voice, maybe your conscience which you so hate for always having and most especially now says ‘not in this way’. You immediately kill it pushing it at the back of your mind and continued on ravishing her against her will. You’re far into deep to turn back now. She feels so good that even if you’re not drunk you still wouldn’t be able to stop yourself.  
You can feel her rapid breathing when you were sucking on her neck, lightly biting and sucking at it again. Your mind scrambles with the need to touch her so you quickly pull her dress up and sneak your hand inside it, running your palm up and down her thighs. You feel your wetness doubles just by the pleasure of touching her skin feels.  
You roughly pull the slim night gown all the way to her waist revealing her panties and you dash to suck on her neck again, deciding it’s your new favorite thing to do,running your tongue up and down and slightly nibbling on her earlobe too. Your hand slowly goes up to her ribcage, reaching to cup her breast and you almost came right then and there when you feel that she’s not wearing any bra on. You knead it hard, flicking it with your fingers, your hand that was running up and down her thighs moves to cup her in between her legs, rubbing her there and feeling the moist that’s slowly building.  
You saw her shut her eyes, forming wrinkles on the side of them telling you that she’s fighting hard not to get affected by what you’re doing to her.  
And when you sneak your fingers to the side of her underwear, touching for the very first time her wet folds, you can’t help but kneel on the floor by the intensity of what you feel.  
This is too much.  
Lucidity slowly comes to you and you feel like a monster for doing this but you can’t stop.  
When you rub her clit with your finger again and again until it’s swollen, you heard a small moan escape from her throat and this gives you the encouragement and you swiftly pull her dress up and suck on her breast while still rubbing circles on her clit.  
Your actions starts to slower down and turn a little bit gentler just letting your mind savor the ecstasy of pleasuring her brings.  
But after a few minutes when you hear her moan again, a warning shots thru your system reminding you of the reason why you started this. Your ego reminding you ‘to punish her’ and the memories from earlier comes back and you remembered again how she made a complete fool out of you.  
You stop licking her nipples ‘cause you saw how she’s starting to feel good with you doing that, thrusting her chest into your mouth. You hold her face with force and she’s surprised by the sudden harsh act and she looks at you, once you held her eyes straight into yours, you plunged your fingers inside her, catching her by surprise, pushing in and out of her faster and faster.  
You watch her eyes close, clearly liking the pleasure that’s starting to build by what your finger is doing. You grip her face and made sure it hurt so that she will open her eyes and look at you.  
“you like that?”  
You plunged another finger inside of her, loving and hating how wet she is. You move your fingers a little faster now, pumping deep and trying to find her spot and hit it over and over. When you feel her walls slowly tightening, you curl your fingers inside and you rub her clit with your thumb. A few more push and you know that she’s about to fall off the edge.  
You lean your forehead into hers, fixing her eyes into yours. Just a few more push and you can see she’s almost at the peak and when you feel her buckle into your fingers, you abruptly pull your fingers out of her and saw the disappointment flashing into her gray blue orbs, wondering why you did that, wondering how you can be so cruel. You watch her breathing rapidly from being left in the air and you wait for the realization to sink in to her before saying.  
“Never ever do that to me again..” and with that you left the room without as much as looking back at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Their history will be revealed in the next chapters. This is short but I wanted to post an update already. Thank you for all your reviews. Please tell me what you think about it. I write better if I know what you think about it. Bear with the mistakes.


	2. chapter 2

You open our eyes but the mere peeling off of each eyelid is very hard. It feels like it's stuck to your eyeballs and when you manage to open an eye, the ray of light coming from outside the window stings so bad like shards of glass each poking your eye that you stagger from your bed hurriedly to close the window. Your sudden movements had you reeling and you feel nauseous, you immediately grip the chair that's beside the window to catch yourself. You slowly lowered yourself to sit on it and that's when you feel all the physical pain in your body. You feel like there's a block of cement wrap around your head and it's throbbing like there's a pulse in it. Your throat feels so dry, like it's on fire and you've never felt this thirsty before in your whole entire life.

You're slump there on the chair like a used piece of clothing when you hear the door to your room slowly opening. It's Miss Claudette holding a tray with a pitcher full of water and a glass on it.

"Your father called, he says you should call him the moment you wake up and to tell you it's important". The mere mention of the word father makes you feel like you want to vomit. But what you also notice was the tone of voice that Miss Claudette is using.

"Hand me a glass of water please" you said not sounding very audible with how groggy your voice still is.

She fills the glass slowly and brings it to you but not before catching her looking at you with a pointed eye and a hint of disapproval in it. If not for your aching head that feels like it's gonna blow you would have ask if there's something wrong with her.

But when she thrusts the water into you a little harshly, resulting to some of it spilling on your lap that's when you snap.

"What the hell-!" If you didn't feel any affection for this old woman you would have told her to pack her things years ago. With how she always feels the right to reprimand you and not shying away into giving her opinions whenever she sees or feels that you're doing something wrong.

You don't have time to think of all those things right now though, with how bad you're feeling. So you take a drink of your water and quickly dismiss the old woman so she can get out your sight, thinking maybe she's just having a bad day of her own.

When she's about to leave, you remember that you don't have any clean clothes left in this room, so you call out to Miss Claudette again, almost sounding very politely cause you just don't want to get into an argument with her at this time.

"Oh before I forget, can you please get some fresh new clothes from my room and bring it here while I shower?" you try to say softly.

She replied without looking at you with her hand reaching out to the doorknob. "why don't you try to get your clothes yourself!" She says with anger in her voice and that's what made you explode.

"What the fuck is your problem woman?! If you have something to tell me, say it to my face!" You're sitting straight now, preparing yourself for the argument even if your body just feels so week.

"I went inside your room before I came here. And... I saw her. I saw how she looked. Her clothes are not properly placed into her body. Her eyes are swollen like she's been attacked." You can hear her words seething through her teeth and her eyes full of judgement that you can't stand it and you quickly look away.

Everything that happened came spilling on you like cold water and if you're still half asleep awhile ago, thoughts of what happened last night, coming back made you fully awake now. But you try to hide all of this from your maid.

"I don't know what you're talking about.." you whispered as you lean your arms on your knees and you covered your face with both your hands.

"What did you do to her Alex?!" when she speaks to you without the miss, you know she's very angry or worried with something that you've done.

"Nothing! Just attend to the things that you have to do and leave me alone" you shout at her.

Now she's looking at you with tenderness in her eyes and softly said "Alex you're not a bad person. I've known you since you were a child and you have the most beautiful heart that I've ever seen. I just don't want you to forget that."

She waits for you to meet her in the eye and added "Take a warm bath now child and I'll have your clothes ready for you" then she closes the door to your room leaving you within your own thoughts.

You try to recollect what happened last night. The things you did and said. Her name enters your mind, flashing like a billboard sign with neon lights on every letters lighting the darkest corners of your mind.

Piper.

Just thinking about her name made you feel dizzy again. You stood up to go to the bathroom where some medicines are placed behind the mirror above the sink. You took an aspirin and washed it away with the glass of water that Miss Claudette brought.

You hate this feeling. Aside from the physical pain, you feel like escaping your own home. You lie back into your bed and sighed deeply. Oh god, now that the medicine is slowly taking effect, your senses are slowly going back to normal and you noticed a different smell on you. Aside from the smell of tequila on your breath, you can smell her on your clothes. It smells like the coconut shampoo that Miss Claudette has been using on her when she helps her in taking a bath. You remember it filling all your senses last night but you were too drunk to let that detail cloud your senses. Your dark side was winning and was in control last night.

You try to escape even your own thoughts. What you will do with her now or how can you face her after what happened? If she only knew how much hold she has on you. If she only knew all these struggles and how conflicted you are when it comes to her. You are crumbling deep inside, torn of wanting to barge into your room, get down on your knees and ask her for forgiveness. The pit of your stomach is twisted in knots, because you know yourself and even if you know the right thing to do, you won't ever do that. Even if this whole thing has catastrophe written all over it and you know this would probably end in a bad way, you would still fight and have it turn into something that you will have a way to redeem yourself and take chance on finding a way to make it better for you and for her so that whatever happens in the end, whether it be the worst, you can tell yourself that you were victorious after all. To reach to that moment and see her eyes not looking at you with hatred, all of this trouble would be worth it.

/

It's been five days since you've last seen her. You had her transferred into the back villa so you can pretend that she's not here, she has been filling the main house with her presence even if she's always locked inside your room. You can't escape Miss Claudette's angry stares whenever she passes you by with the tray of food that you know she's going to bring Piper. You know she has been keeping Piper company 'cause you noticed how she has been hanging out inside your room frequently these last few days.

One time when you walk pass by your room to go outside, you heard some laughter escaped through the door, seeing that it is slightly open, you stood there, frozen in your footstep. You shouldn't be peeking inside your own room but you can't help but be mesmerized with the sound of Piper's laughter. It's the first time you've heard it and you can't help but be intrigued to find out the reason on what made her laugh like that. It sounds so adorable like a music to your ears and a little dorky to be honest that you step to take a peek inside, trying to be very careful that the two won't catch you creeping at them.

You see Miss Claudette regaling her with her story. The old woman was a good story teller, she would always tell you stories back when you were a little kid, especially if your parents are not at home, this usually happens and for long periods of time. Miss Claudette and her stories kept you company and made your childhood bearable.

You turn your gaze to Piper and you can see on her face, how engross she is with whatever Miss Claudette is telling her. She has her mouth slightly open and her eyebrows wrinkled, showing disbelief and amazement at whatever the old woman is telling her. Watching her so relax and being just herself like this, you can't help but feel a little jealous for not being the one who she can be this way with. She looks so beautiful, with her blonde hair forming her face and the sunlight shining on her from outside that you can't help but compare her to an angel. An angel you defiled a few nights ago. The thought made you wince deep inside, you always feel a twist of pain in your stomach whenever you go back to that night.

A little lost in your emotions, you forget to keep your balance on the door cause you were unconsciously gripping the knob a little harder than you think that you pushed and stumbled inside, startling both the women who are inside the room. You rush to immediately gain your composure and without looking at the two of them, you storm your way out. You've never felt so embarrassed in your entire life, not wanting to face the person who caused you this roller coaster of emotions and to avoid the same incident to happen in the future again, you ordered John to transfer Piper into the back villa of the island.

/

It's the weekend and you invited a few friends to come to the island to have a small party with. One more day and you think you're going to lose your mind already 'cause recently it's all been filled with thoughts of a certain blonde, how good her skin feels and her lips tastes like. You have been spending sleepless nights, in fact almost every night since that incident happened. You've been thinking of a girl who wants nothing to do with you and hates your fucking existence and because you're sometimes irrational when you feel bad and having enough of this, you decided to call some friends, against John and Miss Claudette's approval of course but you know you always get what you want so now ten of your friends from the city are here.

The party's swinging and it's already midnight. You can see that most of your friends are already drunk 'cause you have all been drinking since this afternoon. You are wasted yourself but you already decided to stay away from the alcohol when you felt like puking 30 minutes ago.

Nicky hasn't left your side ever since they arrived, always whispering how much she has missed you. But now that it's getting late, her whispers are becoming more and more vulgar. Now she's asking you to get her out of here so that she can show you all the things that she has been telling you about. For a few hours you have somehow forgotten that you have someone tucked away at the back villa of the house but now that the alcohol is wearing off, you start to feel that ache creeping the sides of your chest again. You grip the side of the couch, hating it. Maybe you just need to get laid to help you get this out of your system and once Nicky can work all her wonders on you, you could somehow manage to push away the lingering taste of Piper's lips on your mouth that hasn't gone away no matter how you try. You bolt up and snatched Nicky's wrist, dragging her to the beach and brought her near the shore where there's a large rock covering you from the festivities that's still happening from the house and roughly took her mouth into yours. She kisses you back almost hungrily as you start to lower her on the sand, she's touching you everywhere. She's looks so hot in her bikini but somehow to it didn't much affect you and you can't shake off this feeling of weirdness that's been swarming your head a few minutes ago. You're not even close to being turned on, when before just seeing Nicky in her underwear, you would already have a lady boner in a matter of seconds if there was even such a thing. You suck her neck and kissed it but she smells different, different from the one you're currently obsessed with all these nights. Fuck! Even when you're already about to have sex with another girl she's still haunting your thoughts.

You pull away from Nicky and stood up, she's looking at you with a very puzzled look in her face.

"What's wrong?" and reached out her hand, asking you to lay on top her again.

But you're so lost right now and all you can see are flashes of Piper's hair, Piper's face and her scent filling all your senses.

You have no words to say to Nicki but just a quiet sorry and you ran as fast as you can back to the house, cursing the whole time under your breath. How can she do this to you?! Fuck her! You're going crazy over a woman who probably even wants you dead. You're angry over your disability to control anything that comes to her.

You ran to the bathroom and splashed your face with water, hoping that the water hitting your face and washed down to the sink would take away the torment that you feel right now.

You look up to see your reflection staring back at you in the mirror. You see the same hunger in your eyes all these years since you've first laid your eyes on her.

Flashback

It was 5 years ago. You landed at Kuala Lumpur for a drug stint and she was on her way back from a vacation. Working for an international drug cartel, you've learned to make your actions unnoticeable. You were standing there just keenly observing the people while you were waiting for the call when you see this blonde girl hastily putting her baggage on the cart. She seemed tense or in a hurry, like she was gonna miss her flight. You watch as she arranges her things but as she kept piling them another bag keeps falling. You don't know why but she looks so cute in a situation that doesn't even compliment her well and what appears to be a normal thing that always happens in the airport with people and their baggage is very amusing right now when it comes to this blonde. You immediately noticed that she's pretty and thought if you were in a different situation, you would definitely walk up to her and get her attention.

Then it dawned on you, you have found your mule.

You hear your phone sound and saw there was a text message informing you that the people you were having transactions with are on their way. You immediately replied a confirmation, the image of the blonde you were previously gawking at is still at the corner of your mind and you want to get back to her as soon as possible but to your dismay when you looked up, the spot that she was standing on is now unoccupied.

You decided to go on your way, walking aimlessly, looking for your mark and when you turned around the corner, you bumped into someone out of nowhere and to your surprise it is the blonde from earlier. Some of her bags fell on the floor and you felt a little bad 'cause you know how much trouble she had with those earlier. You kneel down to help her with her things and when you hand them to her, she looked up and both of you stop.

You can't seem to break eye contact with her, she's looking at you too. You both stood there immobilize and you remind yourself to move so she won't think you're someone weird with the way you're staring hard at her. You heard her say in a tiny voice "Thanks" as she placed her things on the cart without looking away from you and you just smile in reply. You've never seen such captivating eyes before and all of the sudden she looked like she just remembered something, shook her head and said "Uhm sorry, I'm late for my flight. I have to go" You didn't get to reply anymore cause she was on her way already but not before spotting her giving you that one last glance again as she makes her way to her flight.

You dialed a number and when you heard your contact answered, you said "The package is on it's way..." and gave them Piper's description.

You stand there for a moment not able to shake the blonde that easily out of your head, surprisingly thinking of her welfare and what would happen to her if somebody catches the package that you slipped into one of her bags. You were about to go on your way when you noticed a black organizer on the side. You picked it up, opened and saw big, bold, black letters written across the front page "This book belongs to Piper Chapman".

That's the start of all this. What happened after that changed both your lives and became the catalyst to this whole chase. With this obsession that have you so bent on making it right for her again. If only you can tell her..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Their history will be revealed in the next chapters. This is short but I wanted to post an update already. Thank you for all your reviews. Please tell me what you think about it. I write better if I know what you think about it. Bear with the mistakes.


	3. Chapter 3

You've been awake since 5:30 am. You barely even had any sleep because you were up all night planning for this moment. You've had enough of running away from Piper and you have finally decided to face her and after deliberately planning on how to start that, you decide what better way to do that than by having breakfast with her this morning.

Miss Claudette was quite surprised when you appeared in her door this morning. It's so out of character for you to visit her in her room. You've stopped doing that since you were 10 and decided you need to toughen up in life and not cling on anyone so much when at such a young age you have experienced so many disappointments that made you hard and at times unremorseful 'cause this was how you learned to defend yourself from getting hurt.

The old lady usually always wakes up at this hour except on Sundays during her rest day so when she opened the door to her room, she almost jumped when she saw you standing there on her doorstep.

"Jesus Christ child!" She exclaims with her hand place on her chest to calm her heart from beating too fast.

"What are you doing outside my room at this hour? I haven't seen you come here since those heavy thunderstorms when you can't sleep and that has been ages ago." You always get a little reticent whenever she tells you experiences from your childhood because it makes you feel small and exposed. So you quickly avert the discussion by saying.

"Help Piper to get dress, I want her to join me for breakfast" after saying that she looks at you very suspiciously. You hate how she has this ability to somehow see through you, so you try to avoid it by saying "Just do it" but you said it so quietly, almost begging her that her face changes into genuine concern and asks.

"what are you planning to do with her Alex?" knowing how she truly cares for you in her voice.

If you need someone to succeed in this whole thing that you're planning, you know you definitely need Miss Claudette on your side so you look at her straight in the eyes and softly said. "Just trust me on this, ok?" She stares at you for a minute, she knows it's a big thing for you to humble yourself and if you're showing some signs of it with how you're subtly asking her to help then you really must mean it. It's always hard for you to ask someone's help because you're used to giving commands and having people at your whim. You're just hoping that you won't let her down and everything goes well with your plans.

The first part in succeeding with this, you thought is getting to know Piper. You know, it's ridiculous given the circumstances but it's the only way you know how to get to her and maybe somehow earn her trust along the way.

You thought of all of these last night when after feeling that your chest is gonna explode from having so many turbulent feelings circulating inside of you and wanting to break free from all of it.

You thought while standing infront of the mirror looking at yourself, contemplating, thinking of ways on how to escape from it but eventually gave up cause you have finally accepted at that very moment that the only way to stop all this was to face the person who was the source of it all.

You need her sight and her presence. You've been craving for it so much since you evaded it for days cause she made you feel so many things.

With still a little alcohol in your system that is giving you this sense of fake confidence, you decided to go to Piper's villa, to have a glimpse of her. Not even caring that it's already 2am and Piper could probably be asleep by now, you slipped into her door quietly and saw her sleeping figure on the bed. You immediately felt how cold the room is and saw that the window beside the bed is open and a strong wind is blowing through the curtain. You were on your way to closing it but you abruptly stop and from where you're standing when you saw her stirring from her sleep and curling up into her side feeling cold in her sleep.

You stand there staring at her sleeping figure, magnetized. Wanting nothing else than to slip into those sheet and lie down beside her with your arm wrap around her to keep her warm.

After a few moments and making sure that she's sound asleep, you silently move towards the window and slowly closed it. You turned around to face her, being closer, you can see the goose bumps in her skin from the chillness of the night. Taking a large deep breath, as if inhaling the air with courage in it, you approach the bed closer and very slowly took the neglected blanket on the side to cover her with it. You pulled it gently and while you were leaning on her to cover the upper part of her body, you heard her mumble in her sleep. "mmhm.." You stopped your movements, afraid that you'll disrupt the peacefulness of her sleep. You stared at her face and her lips, its thin line with the color of a pink rose. Her lips are slightly open and you couldn't stop yourself from moving closer to it. There's nothing more that you would like to do at this very moment than to feel her warm breath on your skin. Your face is merely inches above hers right now and you feel like you are dreaming. Drugged. All your senses are filled, covered with how good she smells. You love how her warm breath is hitting your face and all you wanna do is inhale all of it. Breathe her. It's taking all your strength not to close the gap and kiss her fully in the mouth.

You remembered the last time you were kissing her though and feel the guilt take over you and with that, sensibility kicked in and you snap out of your daze. With all your might, you push yourself away from her and continued placing the blanket properly on her body. You gave her one last look and went out of the room, retreating to your own but resting was far from what was inside your mind. You spent the whole night thinking of ways to get Piper's good side.

That's what brought you here, very early in the morning pacing back and forth in this table, waiting for Piper to come out and checking every few minutes if everything is in place. You decided to have a table set outside the gazebo because the view here is nice. You can see the beach and the beautiful grounds of the house. You feel like you've been waiting forever when she suddenly emerges from the house with Miss Claudette guiding her way through. You can't keep your eyes off of her, she's wearing a ruffled white dress that you bought the other day from one of the stores here in the island. The instant that you saw it, you knew it would look good on her, with her slender figure and the color of her skin and her golden hair. You gave it to Miss Claudette this morning and told her to dress her up with it among the other clothes that you bought which you thought would fit her best 'cause all these times Miss Claudette has been dressing her with your own clothes.

As she walks closer and you can see more and more how beautiful she is, you start to get a little nervous. It probably wouldn't help calm your nerves if she looks so captivating like this. You try to read her expression, on what she might be going through her head right now but there's no emotion written on it.

When the two of them reach the table, you heard the old woman address you "Miss Alex?"

"huh?" you didn't know you have been looking at Piper a little longer than you think so you immediately transfer your eyes on the old lady. A little embarrassed at being caught staring.

"Do you need anything else?" she asks. "Uh no. Everything's fine. I will just ring the bell if we need something" You saw her nod and immediately dismissed herself. But as soon as you saw the old lady disappear into the house, you almost wanted to call out to her cause you don't know if what you're doing right now is the right thing to do.

And Piper just standing there very silently, with an unreadable face is not really helping at all.

" _Don't you dare chicken out now!"_

"Take a sit" You heard yourself say, your voice low, as if very commanding and confident unbeknownst to the one listening that you're a bundle of nerves, ready to blow up anytime with just a slight wrong movement.

She chooses the chair infront of her and slowly sits herself down with you following her actions.

She's has not looked at you ever since she got here and right now, she's just looking at the food that's infront of her.

"I didn't know what you liked for breakfast so there's a little bit of everything in there."

" _Look at me. I'm not that terrible am I."_

You start to get a little food of your own, hoping that if you do she would do the same. She was looking at her cup and you remembered how much she likes her coffee. This memory brought you back 2 years ago when you were following her in New York, waiting in line in one of her favourite coffee shop, cursing under her breath cause the line was very long and knowing her schedule, you knew that she was gonna be late for work that morning.

"Would you like some coffee?" and when you start to move to get the coffee pot, planning to pour some on her, she stops you by saying.

"I'll do it." She said curtly and you just sat yourself back again. This is going to be harder than you thought. What do you expect? You can't just take someone and expect them to fall on your feet. It doesn't work that way. But you don't know how normal things should work anymore. All you know is your way and it usually gets you what you want all the time.

" _Patience..."_

After a few silent moments, you remembered the one thing she asked the first few days that she arrived here and without sounding like you care, you told her while she was sipping on her coffee. "I'll have John take you to a computer so you can email your family." And with that you saw her at the corner of your eye looking up at you through her cup but you didn't meet her eye and just continued picking on your food, acting oblivious that you somehow caught her interest.

After noticing that she still hasn't taken her eyes off of you, you start to get uneasy. The last time she was doing this, you ended up with wine burning inside your eyes. She's studying you again and you're wondering came to an end when you heard her say.

"Why are you doing this?"She's staring very hard at you, it's piercing through your skin.

"I remember you asking me before that you want to talk to your family so they won't worry." You answered her back hoping she would stop with that. These kinds of questions are the ones you don't wanna be ask at this time cause you still can't give her the real answer.

"Why am I here?" her big blue eyes drawing you to tell her the truth. You took your eyes away from her, back on your plate cause if you didn't you just might will and it's not the right time yet. You would lose her forever if you tell her now. She wouldn't understand.

"Eat your food!" you told her dismissively.

"I deserve to know why you're doing this to me!" she looks angry now with the way those big round eyes are glaring at you and she's trying very hard to control it.

One nasty trait that you have is you become angry and impatient if you think the situation's not going your way. You become irrational and you're very well thought out plan is now forgotten.

Who the hell does she think she is?! She's here at your mercy and she would be in a much worse situation if she was not here. If you tell her about the men who's after her she would be terrified. You might be responsible for that but you're trying to protect her now by taking her here.

She should be thankful that you're doing this for her. Preparing her a nice breakfast fit for a queen that she's barely even touching.

"You have no right to demand anything from me! You are my prisoner here. And don't think you can do anything about that cause if you even think of doing that little stint you did before, I'll make sure you're not gonna see the light of day again!" You threatened her without really putting much thought at the gravity of what you just said.

"I know you're not gonna do any harm to me." She pauses and looked at the setting, the table and all the food that's on it. "Or you wouldn't do this if you have any plans on doing something bad to me." She said referring to this whole set up, challenging to know the truth.

What does she know about you?! Nothing. The arrogance. How dare she thinks she can dominate you like this.

All of this is appearing to be so stupid right now and you regret planning this for her.

"You don't know anything about me! Not one bit! So don't you dare think that you know what I'm capable of." Of course she would think that, she must know that you feel something for her. With the way you look at her, full of wanting and longing. You really should learn how to control yourself when it comes to that.

"I know that you're a bad person! And you're a monster! Only a monster is capable of doing what you did to me that night! And even if you're the last person on earth, I wouldn't dream of becoming your friend, so don't waste your time on planning some fancy meal for me again cause you're just wasting your time!" and right away she stood up after that last word but not before you got a good look on the loathe and contempt in her face with all of those words that she just said.

You caught up with her when she was about to turn away and caught her arm, yanking her to face you again with your other hand held above her face about to give her a slap. You know you're much stronger than her cause your built is much bigger and you're towering on her right now. You're fuming deep inside, steam of smoke must be coming out of your ears and nostrils with how angry she's making you feel. Your men would be trembling right now if they were the subject of your wrath but Piper is looking straight at you defiantly, unafraid of what she's sure that you're about to do.

"Do it!" she hisses near your face, looking you straight in the eye.

You're breathing rapidly and you feel the heat of your anger running thru your body but you were distracted with how close her face now is to you. You broke the eye contact and slowly drag your eye to her lips that are quivering from the intense emotion that she's feeling.

" _Fuck! even in this state all I could think of is kissing you"_

You released the breath you didn't know you've been holding. Slowly you lessen the grip on her arm and you felt her slipping from your hand and saw her running all the way back to the house, passing Miss Claudette looking surprised and worried who is on her way out with a tray of fruits which you instructed her to bring out after an hour. The old lady continues walking towards the table and now has her eye directed at you with that look that you don't want to be dealing with right now. You just rolled your eyes at her and turn back to go back to your sit. You need something to calm your nerves.

When she reaches the table, she puts down the tray and placed a serving of it on one of the small plates.

"No one's gonna be eating that now so just take that away" you told her so she would leave cause you really just want to be alone right now.

But she continues on putting some more fruits on the plate and is now choosing a fork to go with it.

"I said I don't want to eat anymore." You told her one more time in case she didn't understand you the first time.

"Who says this is for you. I made sure on picking the right fruits and worked hard on slicing it for this morning and it would be a waste if nobody eats it." She says while carrying the plate and walking around the table and sitting on one of the chairs.

You know you can't tell her otherwise so you just shake your head showing disbelief at how she's ignoring your request that you want to be left alone.

You've never met anyone who can make you feel all these different emotions at the same time. She makes you want to wring her neck but also kiss her senseless at the same time. She's so stubborn and defiant that you want to show her how to submit to you but at the same time you hate to admit that it's the one thing that you admire in her. So high-spirited and untamed that all you can think of is taming her in bed. She wants nothing to do with you but all you want is to protect her _._

But the last thing that she said keeps ringing back at you. It's piercing right to your very core. You feel like you're bleeding internally. Every word stabbing you one by one and the last look she gave you is twisting the blades inside your wounds.

" _I know that you're a bad person! And you're a monster! Only a monster is capable of doing what you did to me that night! And even if you're the last person on earth, I wouldn't dream of becoming your friend, so don't waste your time on planning some fancy meal for me again cause you're just wasting your time!"_

So lost in your own thoughts at how badly this morning has turned out, while looking at the view in front of you that you've forgotten that you're not alone at the table and all these conflicted thoughts inside your head are flashing in your face and did not go unnoticed to the other person who has raised you since you were a little girl.

"Are you ok my child?" she asks full of sympathy in her face.

You look at her trying to conceal the hurt that you're currently feeling but couldn't hide the sadness in your eyes. She reaches out for your hand but you quickly took it away.

She leaves you alone for a while, knowing how you hate to be pried on at times. But after a few minutes she speaks to you again and you can't believe how she just won't give up. You were about to tell her your last thought but what she said caught you by surprise.

"If you want to win her trust. Maybe you should improve in your ways of wooing her." You looked so shock at her but she's not looking at you and just continues eating the last piece of fruit on her plate.

"Who says I'm trying to woo her? That woman needs to be taught a lesson, not wooing." you said angrily and irritated at how the old woman has caught on with your actions. Your thoughts on what transpired earlier a little forgotten.

She gives you a knowing look, saying without words that you cannot lie to her. She knows you more than anyone in this world. She also knows that if she tells you, you would just deny it cause that is how you are.

After finishing her plate, she stands up and took some of the used plates into the tray but right before she leaves, you stop her and said. "Try to see how she is." She didn't say anything but just nods. That alone affirms what she already knows that you care for your captive more than what you lead other people to think.

You need a drink. You slump on the table covering your face with the palm of your hands.

" _Fuck. What am I doing?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not a long update but the next one will follow shortly. I just don’t want you to wait that long. Please tell me what you think?  do you hate Alex as much as Piper? I will drop little hints of their history as each chapters unfolds but will do it fully when Piper learns all of it through--- anyway. Do you want another bdsm scene? Lol tell me what you think. Thanks. Bare with the mistakes or tell me. I will change it later.
> 
> p.s words written in italics are alex's inner dialogues within herself


	4. chapter 4

You were having a quiet dinner by yourself with your computer on the table, answering emails that you have overlooked from clients that need their orders to be placed. This is how you usually spend your night when you’re alone and no beautiful hostages hunting your mind. You see John walk in the room and as he makes his way to you, he gives you a smile that you’re sure is one of the reasons why a lot of girls want to be noticed by him. If you were straight, you would definitely find him hot for sure. He stops at the side of the table and asks.

“May I join you?” you nod at him and pointed to the chair that you would like him to take.

“Have you eaten already? I will have a plate place for you...” He cuts you by shaking his head and said.

“No thank you, I already had my dinner but I will have a drink of this fine wine you have here.” He grins and takes the bottle while pouring it into the glass. He likes his liquors and this is what the two of you usually do. Drink. You like his companion because he doesn’t ask you too many questions. He doesn’t linger when he sense that you don’t want to talk and just wants someone to drink with. You know he has his eyes on you all the time. While you stare into space during times when you’re occupied of things that are happening in your life, you would always sense him watching you, observing your mood and paying attention to your actions. It will creep you out if it was someone else but with him you don’t mind. You have gotten used to it through all these years, one would think that he is your shadow. He’s the one person you would trust your life with.

“How did it go with Piper this afternoon?” You ask him referring to Piper emailing her family with John watching her the whole time.

“Good..” he answered and sipped on his glass while bobbing his head enjoying the taste of it.

You were watching him the whole time, waiting for him to continue and getting annoyed that after a couple of minutes he’s still not.

“And...” you said, your body leaning into him, hanging on to what he is going to say.

He peeks thru his glass sideways looking at you with his eyebrows raised and after gulping the whole glass. He asks “And what?!” acting puzzled but you can see him stifling his laughter.

That’s when you knew that he was playing with you.

“Tell me goddammit! You think I’m playing  games?!” You said in a loud voice while glaring at him.

“Hey relax.. I’m just trying to lighten your mood. You looked like you could eat a person when I came in here with how you were looking at your computer.” He says still laughing at you. Amused at himself while you look far from being one.

“You think you’re funny?!” you asked him with a very serious face.

“I know for sure you’re not” He laughs then pats you on the shoulder before continuing.

“It went pretty well. She was very composed the whole time and after she finished, she gracefully thanked me for it then I escorted her to her room“ He pours himself another drink before continuing.

“I wonder how she does that.” You give him a puzzled look with what he just said.

“She’s a brave woman. I never once heard her complain about anything, you know?” He didn’t see how your face turns soft with that observation because he’s drinking again.

It is one of the things you admire with her. She has never once shown any sign of being afraid or being frightened with what she may be faced with. Even with your worst outburst, she never cowers down. You can see her courageous, stubborn pretty face right now challenging and testing, if you will do what you were threatening her. You admit that you admire this character of hers greatly.

“There was one thing she asks me though when I dropped her off her room that I thought was a little odd.” He said with his eyebrows drawn together.

“What is it?!” You ask at once.

“She asked what is the color of the sand near the shore is. “ He looks at you intently. “Don’t you think that is odd?”  Then he stood up on his chair acting that he’s about to leave but stops to look at you lost in your own thoughts, thinking and knowing well why Piper asked him that.

“Hey, don’t drink too much. You’re gonna need one more liver with the way you’ve been drinking these days.” He tells you right before he leaves and you just answered him with a dismissive wave of your hand.

Throughout all these years that you have been following Piper, studying her and learning her interests, the choices that she makes even down to the kind of coffee that she likes. You have learned a lot of things about her that you’re sure you can even write a book about it.

Having someone follow her or sometimes doing it by yourself, when you get a break and find yourself on her street, you discovered how she likes to go to the beach so much. She would always spend time almost once a week where there is sand and water. She would just sit there, in front of the waves, reading, with her feet rubbing in the sand or with her face looking up, basking in the warmth of the sun. You even followed her to the beach with a date once and they were having a picnic. You felt a little annoyed while watching them the whole time, reasoning to yourself that you just didn’t like how he was looking at her ass, like a pervert whenever she’s not looking.  You paid a boy to let his dog out of his leash so it would run to where Piper and her date was, ruining the picnic when the dog tackled the douche that she was with.

As you continue thinking of these things about Piper, you took your glass of wine and stood up, walking to the door that leads outside to a small lanai. You stand there leaning at the doorframe while looking far away outside and forming ideas in your head.

_“Tomorrow, I’m going to take you to see it.”_

/

The next day, you went back to the city to have a meeting with a client and when it was finished at around one o’clock you cannot wait to go back to the island and when John asked if you wanted to go somewhere else, he was surprised to hear you answer that you want to go back at once. He knows how you sometimes drop by at Nicki’s house, your favourite girl to fuck or take a girl that you met somewhere to satisfy your needs or simply just to shop and buy some things that are not found on the island.

You can’t wait for the sun to go down so you can take Piper to see the beach. You thought that this would do well for your hostage to be out in the sun and not just holed up in the room all the time. You don’t want her to be sick and be bothered with her health if that happens, you have no time for that. She needs to breathe fresh air and there’s lots of it right on the shore.

_“Who are you fooling? Why is it so hard to admit even to yourself that you feel more than care---No! Stop that thought right there. You don’t know what you’re saying so just stop.”_

At three o’clock, you’re standing in front of your closet looking for the right clothes to wear. When you couldn’t decide after thirty minutes, you thought why do you even need to bother on spending time, choosing then changing your mind after you’ve worn it. You’re not going anywhere fancy, it’s just a walk outside for gods sakes. After finally deciding  to wear a khaki pedal pants and a white sleeveless shirt, you head out to the kitchen to call on Miss Claudette and tell her about what you’re planning to do.

“Get Piper ready and get her outside” And when she was about to ask you a question, you immediately cut her by saying “You’re not allowed to ask me anymore questions about her and just do as I say. If she asks just explain to her that she’s allowed a few minutes outside so she can breathe fresh air. We don’t want her to suffocate in that room or anything. Now go!” The old lady just pursed her lips at you and went to go to Piper’s villa.

While waiting for them outside you notice how the sun is going down and it’s that time of the day where it’s just the right to go for a walk. The air is changing and the breeze is starting to be cooler from how it is earlier.

You saw from the corner of your eye Piper and Miss Claudette emerging from the house and you step back a little so the wall will conceal you from observing them. You can see that she’s actually smiling, you haven’t seen her smile in your presence before. You noticed the dimple in her right cheek and you have this urge to touch it. She seems pleased that she was allowed to go for a walk but when they reached near where you’re standing and no longer hidden by the wall, her smile immediately fades and you can see her eyebrows coming together, displeased upon seeing your presence.

“ _Whether you like it or not, we are going to do this until god knows when...”_ You stop your thoughts with that but you couldn’t hold the truth from escaping “ _Until you finally see that there’s more to me than you think.”_

Miss Claudette stops in her spot to wait for your instructions and you can see Piper’s face a little confused.

“I will take her.” you said firmly. Piper’s head shakes showing protest and says. “I thought Miss Claudette will accompany me.”

“No. I will.” You said in a loud voice. You just want her to accept what she’s being told and not fight against it.

“Then you can take me back to—“ She says angrily but stops when you see Miss Claudette’s hand reaching out to her arms and gently says “It’s fine my dear. You’ll be fine.” Nodding to her and that changes her expression as she looks at the old lady. When Miss Claudette gave her an assuring look, you can see that she’s swallowing her will against it and conditioning herself to be a little cooperative.

She has definitely bonded with the old lady that she even has her trust. Seeing that she’s willing to do this already, you nod to John whom you can see at the other side of the ground, alerting him and his men to be on guard while you go for a walk with Piper.

You already gave him instructions on what to do earlier, telling him to watch over the two of you but to keep their distance. You want this to be as comfortable as can be for Piper like how she feels when she seeks the ocean to clear her head back when she was at home. It won’t be like that but if you can bring her something remotely close to that feeling then you would.

“Follow me.” You told her but you didn’t wait to see if she responded or not. You tip your head sideways a little to peek if she’s following you and felt a twinge of success when you saw that she is.

You led her to the pathway going down to the shore, passing the beautiful landscape of the garden with flowers of different colors all the way down. You peek at her again and see the change in her face earlier when she learns that you’ll be the one to go with her and the once troubled face that she always has when she’s around you is almost gone. She’s noticing the beautiful surroundings, taking them one by one and admiring the different kinds of flowers that she probably hasn’t seen before. When you reach the sand, you heard her gasp a little and when you turn, you see her looking at the horizon up ahead. You two are just in time for the setting of the sun that’s about to happen.

You’ve forgotten how beautiful it can be at this side of the island, so majestic, the sun shining on the pristine blue waters that you can’t help but feel a little proud for bringing her here. As if you have discovered a treasure and you’re sharing it with her.

“You can walk around the shore if you like.” You said to her softly that she looks at you a little longer, seemingly surprise that you can talk nicely. Have you been so rude at her all the time that she has to be surprised at that, really? Sometimes you can be oblivious with your actions and you rely on Miss Claudette or John to tell you if you’ve gone overboard or not.

She didn’t respond like always but she takes her sandals off and starts walking straight, going near the water. You chose to stay behind and just watch her from afar, trying to give her some space like how you would usually just watch her before. But right now she’s not just at any place, she’s not at any beach where you can just admire her from afar. She’s right here. At your place and in your beach. Where you can approach her and even talk to her if you like. Only she doesn’t like you to talk to her but still you feel a little sense of satisfaction that she’s here. You’d take this over worrying from afar, liking can come later.

You’ve been watching her for a few minutes now, sitting down in one of the beach chairs with umbrellas near the shore when one of John’s men arrived with a tray of pitcher and an iced lemon tea on it walking up to where you are at and placed the whole thing at the table beside you. You nod at him, a sign of acknowledgement and a dismissal at the same time. You rarely exchange words with them and you let John do that part.

You decide to pour yourself a glass when you see that the iced tea looking so inviting and thought of Piper if she would like to have one too.

 

 

As you were sipping on it, enjoying how coldness is running thru your throat, feeling refresh by it, you throw a glance at Piper to see if maybe she would like some but you noticed that she was limping. You thought if she’s doing it on purpose but when she fell to the ground, you almost dropped the glass when you hurriedly placed it on the table because you were hurrying up to run where Piper is.

Is she hurt?! What the hell happened?

When you close in on her, you immediately dropped to where she’s sitting and you can see that she’s holding her foot with a pained look on her face.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” You asked her worriedly.

She didn’t turn to look at you and continued to hold her foot while pinching it.

“What’s wrong?” Why isn’t she answering you, goddammit! Can’t she see that you’re worried? When she continues to do so, you pulled her foot to see what she’s doing but she swats your hands away.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine. I stepped on a sea urchin.” She says, unconcerned and you can tell that she’s irritated why you need to be all over her. This makes you want to take control of the situation even more and do whatever it takes to help her whether she welcomes it or not.

You took her foot roughly to see it, not asking for her permission anymore. What’s the use, you already know she wouldn’t allow you to hold her.

“I said I’m fine!” she struggles to take away her foot back but you were holding it tightly that she can’t manage to anymore.

You see that the thorn is buried deeply and you know how taking the little prick out would hurt her badly. You remembered one first aid to sea urchin thorns and without giving much thought to how horrible your idea is, you kneeled down to unbutton to your pants.

When she notices what you’re doing, her eyes widen in shock.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” she asks horrified.

“Close your eyes. I need to pee on your foot.” You told her.

“What?! Why?!!” You see in her face how she can’t believe this is happening right now or if you’re really serious with what you just said.

“It will help to relieve the pain and not sting as much. If I don’t do this, it will swell and can be very painful later. There’s no doctor on this island so you might as well let me do this” You said while continuing to unzip your pants. She knows you’re serious and knows more about these things than she does so she finally gives in. “Oh my god” she cries “I can’t believe we’re actually doing this.”

This whole scene is almost comical if it happened to a friend and you would have to do this on them but it’s not, you’re with Piper and you don’t have time to think of the right way to do things ‘cause all that’s in your mind is to ease any pain that could come to her. You don’t even care if John or his men are watching, you told John to only approach where you are if you call out for help.

“Believe me, I don’t want to do this anymore than you do but it’s the only way. Cover your eyes.” You ordered her, leaving no room for discussion as you position yourself above her foot.

She’s covering her face with both her hands and when you finish peeing, you zip up and just knelt there in front of her. She still hasn’t uncovered her face and you suddenly find all these amusing that you can’t help but let out a snort, she peeked and saw the amused look in your face and she scowls at you.

“What?! It’s funny!” Good thing you drank all that tea and you had some pee in you and that thought made you laugh a little once more but you had to stop yourself when you see that you’re the only one amused by it.

She probably thinks you’re the weirdest person in the entire world. With what transpired between the two of you already and now you’re amused with something as humiliating as this.

After regaining your composure, you sit on the sand beside her and looked ahead facing the sea. The sun is finally setting and the skies are the color of orange. Everything looks so beautiful and you just want the girl beside you to witness the whole thing but you see she has her head down and her face still contorted with pain.

“Can you walk?” you asked her softly.

“I can.” She answers.

You don’t want her to miss what was happening at the moment, this is why you chose to bring her at this time so she can see this. The perfect sunset.

“Look” You said simply.

She looks up to you and saw that you’re looking ahead and she does the same. The moment she transfers her gaze at what’s in front of her that’s the time you turned to look at her face. To see how it’s slowly changing, from being hurt and slowly to pure amazement. You’re looking at her lovely face, watching it this close that you can see how soft her skin is. How you yearn to touch it so much, you’re getting lost in it as you memorize the outline of her nose, her mouth and up to the shape of her very pronounced chin.

In that moment as if something ticked inside you.

You want to bring her more of these moments just to see that look in her face. Getting so lost with all these thoughts of how you can be contented with looking at every beautiful things thru her that you forget that you probably shouldn’t even be staring.

Captivated by the beautiful scene also, she forgets a little that you’re still there beside her and when the air blew, as if carrying with it her consciousness back to her, she feels your burning gaze and she looks down again feeling uncomfortable by letting her guard down a little by showing you her natural self and with that you also shake your head and decided it’s time to head back.

“Let’s go back now” you said quickly, using your commanding voice. The voice you always use when you wanna seemingly appear detached.

You stood up first and offered your hand to her, knowing she would find it hard to stand up. You have been prick by a sea urchin before and it really does hurt like hell when the thorn is not removed.

She refused to take your hand and tried very hard to stand on her own but loses her balance while doing it and she falls sideways on the sand. You just rolled your eyes at her stubbornness. After seeing that she’s having a hard time the second time she tries, you decided you had enough of it and roughly scooped her up on your arms.

Of course she doesn’t fail to show her resistance of the whole thing. “Put me down! I told you I can walk on my own!” But you continued to walk back not listening to her cries. She should learn by now, you don’t listen to anyone.

“Put me dow---!” She shouts once more.

“Just shut up or I’m gonna drop you! Stop testing my patience!”  You hissed at her.

Surprisingly she does, having the sensibility not to push you anymore and remembering what happened the last time you lost your patience. After walking a few more steps you placed her on the beach chair you were sitting on earlier and kneeled down in front of her, inspecting her foot. You took out your phone and instructed John to bring you some first aid kit.

You held her foot on top of your knee and said.  “We have to take out the prick or else it will sting badly tonight.” She just nods.

“ _She does know how to be cooperative.”_ You smiled deep inside with that thought of yours.

John arrives with the first aid box and acts on taking over but you stop him by saying. “I’ll do it.” He opens the box and hands you the disinfectant first while you’re holding Piper’s foot gently. Every time you have the chance to touch her, you always give an extra effort to concentrate and not think of how her skin feels within yours and push away memories of how you felt that night and anything that she’s capable of making you feel.

When you’re finish cleaning it, you took out the needle that will be use to take out the prick inside. You know what you’re about to do will hurt so you look up to her for a bit and saw that she’s already wincing knowing what you’re about to do and understanding that you must do this. You move closer but turned your back at her while holding her foot on your lap, covering what you’re about to do thinking that it will help if she doesn’t see you doing the incision.

Turning your head sideways, you speak to her once more before starting. “This will hurt but just.. squeeze on my arm if you can’t take the pain.” You look at her straight in the eyes with that last sentence and she is too, she’s reading your face, it’s dawning on her how concern you really are for her well being and you’re not just this crazy person who likes to have your way on everything.

You tore your eyes off of her so you can start taking out the thorn. When the needle touches her skin, you felt her flinch, you decide there’s no other way to do this so you might as well get it done and the faster you do it, the sooner you will ease her from the pain and after you can place a medicinal cream on it to soothe the wound. You cut through her skin to get to where the thick and long thorn is buried deep within, she lets out an anguish groan but still trying hard to take the pain from the incision that you’re doing but when you twist it a little to form a larger cut so you would have more room to pick the thorn out, she grips your arm strongly. That’s when you know she’s really hurting.

“It’s almost over.” You said in a comforting voice. Feeling her hand holding you even if her grip hurts a little made you wanna stop what you’re doing and just hold her hand.

“It’s done.” As soon as she heard that, she quickly removed her hand away from your arm.

You showed her the thorn that was inside her foot and you heard her release a deep breath, relieve that it’s over.

With her foot on top of your lap, you hold it gently while wiping the small amount of blood on it, cleaning and applying a medicine before covering it up.

You are so concentrated on taking care of her, as if her life depended on it.

You bend your head closer to her foot, oblivious to Piper’s eyes, who was watching you the whole time, thoughts swarming inside her head, seeing you doing this to her and surprise that you’re capable of being this gentle.

You’re slowly blowing on the wound, holding her foot so delicately like it can break if you hold it too tightly.

But while doing this, you notice how everything’s so quiet in your surroundings and the one who owns the foot you’re currently holding like a baby is not making any movements at all. That caught your attention and you immediately looked up. You caught her looking at you with an expression that you haven’t seen before. You tried to act like everything is normal as you straighten up and finished what you’re doing by putting a bandage over it.

Slowly putting down her foot, you look at her and said. “John will help you back to your villa.”

You stood up without looking at her anymore, feeling a little weird with what just happened but before you can turn farther away from her, she catches your hand. This made you stop and look down to it and she takes it back feeling like she was burned with the way you were looking at both your hands joined together.

You turn to her and saw how she looks uncertain, this is the very first time you’ve seen her this way. Like she’s not sure of what she’s about to do.

“Uhh.. Thanks.” You heard her say very quietly and she stops to look down to her hands and looks up to meet your eyes again. “Thank you for what you did.”

You pause there, looking at her. Here’s a girl who is never afraid to fight with you. Even when you’re very mad and you would have every reason to order anyone to strangle her, she would never back down.

Why is she acting all shy merely just by thanking you? You find it so endearing that you’re discovering this different side of her.

You can see the appreciation in her eyes. It’s sincerity. That’s why you didn’t recognize her face earlier cause it was too far from what you are used to seeing on her. Her eyes are always on fire, full of hate and contempt but right now you can’t see any of it.

It is truly thankful that simply looking at her eyes, all mellow like that brought warmth inside your chest.

“Thank me at dinner later.” You said leaving her no choice to disagree and made your way back into the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Are you still interested? Tell me what you think. It helps me write. Thanks! You’re all lovely for leaving reviews.


	5. chapter 5

**_Flashback_ **

_“They’re on their way to her apartment right now.” That’s the last sentence you heard from your insider who works closely with the “the boss”. He’s sending his men to get it when he learned from one of the men you were together at the airport and had a falling out with that the mule you chose, who’s supposedly should be taken care of now is still carrying the package. You were supposed to cover it up and replace it but you were sidetracked when you developed an interest for her._

_You know how cutthroat these people you’re working for and you wanted to spare her from all that, do the retrieving yourself even if it wasn’t your job to do it. Your job was to choose a mule, place the package there, the men would distract the security so she would be able to pass thru the gates undiscovered and have some men follow where she lives and get it. But you know how they do things and you couldn’t take the thought of her going through that, her house getting ransacked, hold at gunpoint and some are even beaten and for those unfortunate ones who fight then they are without thought killed and disposed of. They don’t care about the people they use as long as they get what they want._

_Having the black book that Piper left at the airport, made it easier for you to learn where she lived. You asked “the boss” to entrust to you the job of getting the package yourself and because you have never asked for anything before and for delivering a good job all the time, he permitted you to do it. That was supposed to be your plan, get it yourself, knowing you would do the job and not bring her harm but as you slowly got to know her during the first few days that you have been following her, you began stalling on your plans because you didn’t know how to approach her and if you could leave her after just like that. There’s something in her that is pulling you in and the more you got closer the more you want to know._

_Your heart is racing, a million thoughts running through your head right at this very minute. You won’t be able to forgive yourself if anything happened to her. They’re looking for the package that’s still with her. The one you placed in one of her baggage. You quickly called two of your most trusted men in this city, who is always on a stand-by whenever you need them and told them everything they need to know about Piper and to go to her house immediately. They were old marines that are good with guns and are skilled in fighting. You always call them for operations like this. You can hold your own when it comes to gun fights and you’re also good in shooting your target because you’ve been trained for this but you know you can’t take them down all in your own._

_When you arrived at her house, it was very quiet outside. At 1am nobody is walking the streets anymore. The three of you sneaked your way through the door, very careful not to make any noise on your way. You’re following the two of your men, almost covered by their shadows because of how huge their built are. For a moment you thought of John, you’d be much secured if he was here. You were shaken out of your thoughts when you heard the sound of a glass being dropped upstairs and the three of you quickly made your way upstairs where you know is Piper’s bedroom is._

_Everything happened so fast that when you reached the upstairs part of the house, three men were already lying lifeless on the floor outside of the room and there was a little struggle with the two men and the trained men you were with inside her room but in a matter of seconds they were already on the floor, with blood coming out from the gunshot wounds they had gotten from the fight. You barely even heard a gunshot ‘cause they were so fast and were using guns with silencers. It was like a blur but you remembered precisely one of the men saying._

_“They were about to shoot her when we walked in.”_

_You didn’t have time to listen to it or notice the blooded scene right before you because all you cared about was Piper who was sitting on the floor, shaking out of her wits. Her big round eyes full of terror at what she just witnessed. Completely disoriented from what just transpired. Confused on what those men were after for and why they’re lying dead on her floor now when just a week ago she was having the time of her life from having her vacation in one of the most beautiful beaches on earth._

_You saw in the corner of the room that she hasn’t even completely unpacked her baggage yet and the package must still be there hidden somewhere._

_Her mouth was covered with a tape to keep her from shouting. You scrambled your way through her and tried to check for wounds or bruises. You tried so hard not to speak so she won’t be able to tell your voice behind the mask you were hiding. You pulled her very scared face to look up and you felt like beating yourself up right there for causing her this._

_That night before you left, you took the package and called the police before leaving knowing you will be back for her to fix this. You can’t stay. You must plan something quickly or the boss will find out and both of you could be killed and that is not an option._

_Since then you have been arranging things for her, manipulating everything even how she got to live in her new place, making her meet the realtor who offered the place she’s living now very cheap and away from the city to keep her hidden from the men who might come back for her. She had no choice but to agree to it, seeing that she needed some place where it would be peaceful and far from the previous neighbourhood she was in. You arranged to get her help when she had troubles from the trauma that night had caused her._

_Since then, you too have been hiding at your island. “The boss” was very angry at how that operation went and for losing the package that he blamed you all for it and until you find a way to fix this, you and Piper are not safe._

/

You told Miss Claudette to tell Piper that dinner will be at 8pm. You chose a red maxi dress to wear for that night. At 7:30, you poured yourself a drink of whiskey to make your nerves relax a little. You remembered how she looked shyly at you earlier that day when she was thanking you for helping with her wound. It was so unlike her to be that way around you. You found it endearing that you thought what else are her other qualities that you haven’t seen yet that would make you feel the same way.

Glancing at your watch, you see that it’s almost 8 so after finishing your last drink you went outside and made your way to the dining hall. Before reaching the dining area, you will have to pass the entrance to the house and who you saw standing there, made your breath hitch. It’s Piper, looking undecided if she will go inside or not yet but when you two caught each other’s eyes you both stop and held each other’s gaze. She’s so beautiful despite wearing something so informal as the white slacks and sleeveless thin black blouse you bought her. You knew it would look good on her. She looked down at what she’s wearing, feeling conscious from the way you’ve been inspecting her and wondering if she’s dressed appropriately for dinner or if there’s something wrong with the way she’s dressed. If only you can tell her that you’ve been admiring her all this time.

You nod at John whom you can see at the back, he obviously escorted Piper here.

“Are you ready?” You asked.

She gently nods and you lead her to the next room where you’ll be having dinner.

The dining room is occupied by a ten sitter mahogany table, four chairs on each side facing one another and one on each end. The room is covered with candle like lights on every corners and a chandelier with the same design in the middle of the room. When you neared the table, you saw how the plates were prepared on each end, that means Piper will have to sit on the far end of the table and that’s too far for your liking. You took the little bell that is used to summon the other maids and shook it, soon enough one of the young maids who helps Miss Claudette in the kitchen came out and you instructed her to change the setting. You chose the first of the four chairs and asked for Piper’s plates to be placed in front of the chair facing yours and after that told the maid to start serving dinner.

The whole time you were giving those instructions, you were throwing glances at Piper, checking how she is, just standing and waiting for you. When the maid left, you pointed her to where you would like her to sit and she obediently obliged. The room is too quiet with just the two of you sitting there avoiding meeting each other’s glances. You’re pretty confident with how you are with the ladies but with her you just can’t seem to do it right and you always get tongue tied. You have this tendency to analyze every action and every words that you want to say that you end up not saying them at all scared that you would appear foolish or too eager. The only times where you know what to say to her are those times when the two of you are fighting.

_“Talk to her, you idiot”_

“How’s your foot?” Your deep voice echoing throughout the room, finally breaking the silence that’s been surrounding it ever since the two of you were left together.

She looks up to meet your face and said. “It’s a lot better now.” You held her gaze for a little while and when you think she’s not going to add more to what she just said, you reached for the wine to pour some into your glass but she made a sound that caught your attention back to her again.

 “Uhm, thank you for what you did earlier.” She says quietly.

She’s still very much wary of you but given that you haven’t done anything to really harm her and treated her not less than a guess at your house, she’s beginning to feel a lot less not threatened by your presence. You can sense her always on guard though and without the help of Miss Claudette maybe she wouldn’t face you still.

She has that shy look on her face again.

_“You have to stop doing that, it’s making it harder for me not to jump at you and kiss that pretty face of yours.”_

“Anyone would do what I did if they were in my place.” There goes your cynical side again.

“I’m still thankful” She said very sternly but like a whisper that you almost didn’t catch it if you haven’t been paying her all your attention.

_“So defiant.”_

You have to be tortured first before you’d let her know that you like it when she’s being bold. Furious and turned on to be exact.

She didn’t catch the little smile that formed at the corner of your lips because she was tracing lines on her fork.

“Wine?” you offered, to loosen her nerves a little like what you’re doing with yours now.

She nods and you poured some into her glass and just after doing it, Miss Claudette walk in with the maid pushing a stroller and the food on it. Miss Claudette instructed the younger maid where to place the three big dishes that she prepared.

She prides herself with the meals that she prepares and she never fails to cook scrumptious ones. When all the food are placed on the tables she begins introducing each one. A tender T-bone steak that’s still sizzling on the platter with some vegetable garnish on the side. A tuna belly grilled just right that you can tell it’s very juicy just by looking at it and prawns sliced in half cooked in butter and garlic. The last one is a special delicacy in this island and it’s one of your favourite.

Miss Claudette wished the two of you to enjoy your meals, she also threw a smile at Piper before she excused herself back to the kitchen.

You can see the hunger in Piper’s eyes, not because she’s hungry but you know as you’ve read in one of her writings how she likes to try different kinds of food in her travels. Before you brought this series of unfortunate events into her life, she has this hunger. A hunger to see different places, to try new things and learn different cultures. That’s why she loves to travel so much before what happened killed her love for life and traumatised her that she can barely go out of the house, afraid that any minute some men might mug her or attack her again like what happened in her bedroom that fateful night. It took her almost a year and therapy to help her get back on her feet. This thought always twists your stomach into knots but right now you can’t think of any of these things. You have her here in front of you and this is all you need to think about.

“I hope you like the food.” You told her, letting her know that she can start eating. She eagerly took a slice of each serving and came back for more of the veggies that were paired with the steak. Stopping herself when she remembers that you are there sitting in front of her and she looks up while on the act of scooping a serving.

“Aren’t.. aren’t you going to eat?” she asked, like a child embarrassed by getting caught with the last cookie in the car. You hide the amusement in your face. She looks like she hasn’t been fed for a long time but you’re sure Miss Claudette has been feeding her right.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t eat the lunch that they brought me earlier.” You threw her a confused look as to why she didn’t and she quickly added.  “I didn’t like the gooey soup that they brought me earlier.” Your expression changed and she sputters into pleas this time. “Please, please don’t tell Miss Claudette. I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”

Her not wanting to hurt the old woman’s feelings tug something inside your heart. It just shows how caring she can be with other people.

“I won’t. And I’ll tell her not to make those anymore.” You told her with a gleaming look in your eyes. Maybe it’s not a big deal but you love the idea that you have something that you share with her like it’s the most valuable secret in the whole world.

A few minutes later, you are slowly sipping on your third glass, not eating as much as you’d like because you’re so caught up with watching Piper enjoying her meal but too careful not to be caught staring that sometimes you pretend to pick on your plate and eat something whenever she shots you an eye also checking if you’re looking at her.

When you saw that she’s almost finished eating, you decided to inform her of what John told you earlier. You thought that she has the right to know this and it will also help to make her stay here a lot easier.

“Your family replied to your email.” You told her.

She stops on her last bite and turn to you very seriously. “What did it say?” Her face turned from being scared to grief in a matter of seconds. You can tell that she’s worried for them and that she misses them terribly. She doesn’t want to make them worry more for her though, they’ve been through enough with what she went thru a few years ago. Since then they’ve been constantly at her back, looking at her, watching out like she’s this fragile thing that they need to take care of at any given moment. What they do not know and see is how far she’s changed from how she was before.

How it must be like for her to find herself again in the hands of strangers whom she thought are going to hurt her when she first arrived here. God forbid you probably even remind her of what happened to her that night. That’s why she’s this resistant to you, rebelling at everything that you present to her. You admire her for it, only sometimes your patience gets in the way and you want things your way fast like how you’re always used to.

“They think it’s a good idea that you took the time off for yourself and that you’re travelling again.” She bows her head, understanding what her family truly meant by it.

She stopped for the longest time doing what she loves most. The most she’s done is to go to the beach whenever she can when it gets too much. The once very carefree woman that she was became a cautious, very guarded and fearful being and her family hated seeing her that way. She didn’t want to be a burden to anyone though, she kept to herself all these things but it was not left unobserved by the people who cares for her. You knew all these things that troubled her through the monthly report her therapist sends you.

In that matter of time that she was thinking of her family, something flicked inside Piper and she looks at you aggressively and asked what she has been dreading to know ever since she first arrived here.

“What do you want from me? Why am I here?” The anger in her eyes is back but she’s trying to tame it, knowing she doesn’t have any control in this situation and not wanting to flare you up again.

“There are men who want you dead.” The horror in her face, quickly turned to panic with the bomb you just dropped but you have to continue. “Same men who went thru your house years ago who were after something that they failed to get.” She looked like she’s about to throw up the food she just ate. Her fears are returning to her once again.

“But I won’t let that happen.” You paused to look her straight in the eye, making it known to her that you mean what you just said. The fear slowly replaced with confusion. A lot of questions, you know, are swirling inside her head right now.

“I don’t want anything from you. You’re the one who needs something from me.” She looks so lost. Perplexed by what you meant by that.

Still recovering from the shock of this new information, she couldn’t quite form her words. “Wha.. what do you mean, I need something from you?”

“My protection.” You didn’t tell her all the truth to what truly transpired and the whole reason why those men are after her because you think she would despise you more if she knew that you were the reason why her life turned this way. If she knew the whole truth, you’re afraid that you would completely lose her. You reasoned to yourself that it’s not the right time to let her know yet. When will that be, you have no idea but right now you know you can’t afford to have her with that much contempt over you. To see you as the monster that you truly are.

But you’re a monster who is willing to protect her with all your life. You have no intention in painting yourself as the knight in shining armor, you are far from that. She saved you from something too and that’s the reason why you’re this connected to her. Not to mention the attraction that you undeniably feel for her.

“It’s not safe for you to go home. You will have to stay here.” You told her but it wasn’t a statement but more like a command.

“Why do you know all this? And.. and why are you doing this for me? I don’t understand.” She shoots you all these questions, completely confuse still to what is your part in all this and why you’re willing to do this for her.

Her face tells you that she’s analyzing a lot of things right now. Trying to decipher something from the little information that you told her. She suspects that you’re somehow involved with those men for you to know all these information.

“That’s all you need to know for now.” You dismiss her question then drank more from your glass of wine.

She hates it when you dismiss her like this but she stops herself from saying something, hating the fact that it’s dawning on her how she does really need your help. Now that she knows there are men that are out there who wants to harm her.

One thing came to her mind though and she can’t keep it to herself not to ask.

“That night... someone came. And.. and stopped the guy who was about to shoot me.” You know where she’s going with this question of hers and you’re not sure if you want to answer her now. “Was that you? Were you one of those guys who came to my rescue?” You know if you answer her, she won’t stop asking for more. She was looking very intently into your eyes, reading it. Looking for signs that will tell her the answers to her question and she did get it from the confirmation in your eyes.

You were saved from her inquiry when Miss Claudette went inside the room and asked delightfully if you would care for some cake that she had baked earlier for dessert. Oblivious to the tension that is palpable between you and Piper.

Piper straightened up in her seat and quickly wiped the tears that were welling up in the corner of her eyes. She looked up to Miss Claudette and tried to force a smile. The old lady sensed that there’s clearly something wrong that happened before she came in and quickly took matters into her own hands.

“Oh I’m sure you two will like my very moist chocolate cake. I will bring out two slices, just you wait.” You didn’t protest anymore. A little tipsy from drinking too much wine and just relieved that your old maid interrupted the two of you.

_To be continued...._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of their dinner scene in the next chapter. I have to stop here though cause its my birthday this weekend but I want to leave you this chapter to tie some loose ends with questions that you have about their history. How Piper also helped Alex, you will find out later. Shout outs to those who leave comments, I appreciate it all cause it really helps me write and when I get lazy, your reviews prompts me to get back on my computer. Tell me what you think about this chapter!   
> This chapter is dedicated to my lovely new proof-reader, peace-love-brittana! Thank you my lady. xx


	6. Chapter 6

_Continuation…_

After awhile Miss Claudette walks back in again with the mouth-watering cake and sets it on the table to serve to you and Piper. It looks so good that it takes your mind away a little from the looming issues which you and Piper were talking about before being interrupted by Miss Claudette. She gives you the first slice and you watch as she does the same to the blonde girl whom you’re sitting across from. Piper gives her a warm smile and says thanks. Although you’re a little jealous and wish that she would feel the same affection towards you, you’re glad that she has the old lady. Someone who she can be comfortable enough with to show what she feels on this island, knowing that she’s in a difficult situation and misses her family.

Miss Claudette bids the two of you goodnight and right before she leaves, you tell her that you will not need her assistance anymore and she can retire for the rest of the night. The room is filled with too much silence once the two of you are left alone again. You suddenly notice everything around you all at once, even how thick the chocolate filling is that’s covering your untouched slice of cake in front of you. Piper on the other hand is already eating hers, absentmindedly nipping through each slice, she looks so serious doing so from all the thoughts running inside her head.

You clear your throat to make a sound and that breaks her concentration. She looks up at you, there must be a million thoughts going through her mind right now with how she’s looking at you blankly. What will she do? She fears for her life, and is worried if she can entrust it to a total stranger. A stranger that has a bad temper when she doesn’t get her way and has even treated her badly.

You have to show her that she can trust you. The temper you can’t do anything about right away, but you have to let her know that you will not let anything happen to her so long as you’re alive.

“Hey… are you alright?” You know it’s a stupid question but you just don’t know what else to ask her right now.

“Mhhm..” She gives you that very short answer. You know that she’s not, but for now you will not press her about that and give her time to let the situation sink in. You do have an idea though on how to lessen the grief that she’s feeling over her situation.

“Maybe you’d like my piece? I think you want some more.” You tease her, referring to your slice of cake. “Is it that good?” you add, hiding an amused look behind the glass that you are currently sipping from.

“No thank you.” She shakes her head and manages a small smile with her reply, probably just to show you some gratefulness for the dinner you invited her to tonight.

“With how you were so concentrated in eating that cake the whole time, one would think that you haven’t had cake in your entire life.” You tease her, to lighten the mood before telling her the next thing in your plan.

From all those years of observing her, you know how she can hide her true feelings behind a smile. Making it seem like she was alright the whole time she was going through that phase of difficulty. That’s the last thing that you want, for her to fall back to that while she’s here.

“Uhhm...I know we don't really get along well...” you pause to gather some strength in what you’re about to say and, noticing how you have suddenly turned serious, she listens to you more intently.”...And I’m not going to apologise for my actions before, but I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to help you.” You look straight into her eyes while telling her this, holding her gaze and pouring into it all the sincerity you can.

She looks thankful andconfused at the same time but all in all, she’s relieved that there’s someone willing to help her in this. She has no choice after all. She has no one else. God knows she won’t ask her family for help, fearing that she would drag them into this trouble.

“Do you understand?” You ask to make sure she is registering all of this.

“Yes.” She answers curtly. Only then she lets one tear fall from her eyes and quickly wipes it away.

“And since it’s imperative that you stay here until the time comes that I have fixed this... We need to come to an agreement so we can talk like civil people and not be at each other’s throats all the time. I want you to understand that you’re welcome to do anything you want in this house and if you need something, anything, just tell me about it.” You add one more reason that would make it harder for her to disagree with this idea.“It is important to me that we get along so I won’t be bothered with your presence here and am able to formulate a much faster plan to get you out of this…”

_“What an excuse.”_

You pause to see if she’s absorbing everything that you’re telling her and when you see that she does, you continue once again.

“I was hoping that while we’re at this maybe it would help a lot if at least..maybe..” You don’t know how to say it without appearing sentimental. “...we can be friends?”

_“Don’t look at me like that...”_

With the way she’s looking at you right now, you want to take back everything you just said.

“I know you’ve said that I’m the last person on earth you would wanna be friends----.”

“Let’s forget about that.” She says, cutting you off with what you were planning on saying. “I was angry with what you did to me.” She finally speaks. “I think you can understand why. I know that I need you and..” She looks at you before continuing, making sure that you’re listening to her. You on the other hand are hanging to every word that’s coming out of her mouth. She seldom speaks her mind, and when she does you will not do anything to interrupt her. “I agree that it’s important that we should get along while I’m staying here. Even become friends.” She ends her statement, waiting for you to say something.

The two of you feel like you’re treading a different territory right now and you both aren’t sure how to walk this road yet.

But did you really hear that? Did she really say that you can be friends? You’re not sure that's what you just heard. Maybe it’s your mind putting words into your head because of how badly you have wanted to be close with her for the longest time. But you'd have to be staked alive to admit that.

“Are you sure?” You ask her once again.

_“You just want to hear it.”_

She gives you a nod. You don’t know what’s taking over you or your hand to reach out across the table, asking her silently to shake it. It’s totally unnecessary but here you are with your hand hanging in mid-air, waiting for her to take it. For her to seal the deal, as if you two had just met and she's granting you a fresh start with her.

“Friends?” You ask in a comforting voice.

_Please take my hand and say it…_

She slowly reaches out take your hand and cautiously shakes it. “Friends.”

The moment you feel her hand holding yours and how soft it is, you feel like jumping deep inside. This is like winning the first level to a game that took you so long to train for.

The two of you jump from your seats when your phone suddenly rings. The fright made her withdraw her hand from your grip. You miss it at once, the feel of her warm hand and how perfectly well it fits in yours.

You curse at yourself for forgetting to put your phone on silent but when you catch a glimpse of whose calling, you know that you have to take it. It’s an important call from someone overseas that you have been waiting for days to hear from.

You look at Piper apologetically and say, “I have to take this.” You don’t bother to wait for Piper’s reply and immediately press the answer button. This contact is someone who can greatly help in this mess you’re in and you don’twant to keep him waiting. You see Piper’s eyes peek up from her bent head when she hears you speaking in Spanish and the both of you quickly look away from each other. She continues to slice through her cake while you gather some valuable information.

After hanging up, you turn to face your guest and see that she’s looking at you. You wonder if you have something on your face because she’s looking at you curiously.

“What?” you ask anxiously.

“You speak Spanish?” Piper asks and you eye her curiously.

You’re not used to her conversing first and you can’t believe that she’s interested in anything that has to do with you.

“Yeah, I speak Italian, French and German too.” You spurt out without putting a thought to what you just said, immediately regretting it.

Great, now you sound like a bluestocking. She may probably think you’re a know-it-all too.

“I hope you don’t play the piano or the flute too?” She asks with a glint of humour in her eyes.

“No, I can’t play either.” You answer, wondering what she really means with her question.

“That’s good ‘cause those are the only things that I do well.” She explains with a wide smile.

Did she justjoke withyou? She even made an effort in not making you look foolish for boasting about yourself by also jokingly boasting about herself. You’re glad that she has already taken the first step to this friendship thing with you by doing what she just did. Piper is intelligent and in that short moment she must have made up her mind that it’s definitely easier that you two get along with each other. She may have an agenda herself, knowing she can’t talk to you about her situation and ask for some information about it if you two aren’t getting along.But whatever it is you can’t help but find her so pleasing and effortlessly captivating right now, that you literally thirst for more of this side of her.

You offer her a warm smile and a thought comes to your mind.

“Would you like to take a walk outside?” You invite her. It is this time of night that the moon is so high and shining prettily on the water. Also this is the time when fishermen come out to the sea because the fish like to swim under the reflection of the moon and it’s just so idyllic to look at.

“It’s a lovely night and I usually take my drink outside the gazebo, but if you’re tired you can go back to your room.” You quickly add when she didn’t immediately reply, but you hope deep inside that she will take you up on your offer. You haven’t had enough of her company tonight.

_You will never get enough of her._

“I would love to.” She answers simply.

She hasn’t had the opportunity to see what it’s like during night time here so you understand her enthusiasm when she gladly takes your offer.

A fine, chilly air descends when you two step outside making the sea gleam more. You can see it all the way up from where you’re walking, leading Piper out to the gazebo where there’s a small table and four chairs around it. This is where you always love to sit at night and have your wine because you can see the whole view of the beach and the house that surrounds it.

When you reach the gazebo, you immediately go to pour yourself another glass of wine and, when you turn, you see Piper inspecting the chess game that you and John left the other day.

“Do you play?” You ask with surprise and doubt in your voice. You haven’t seen her play one before.

“Yes, my dad taught me when I was little.” She answers and crosses her hands around her, feeling the chilliness of the night.

“Here.” You say as you hand her a full glass of wine. “It will warm you up.”

“Thanks.” She says and turns to her side to look at what’s in front her. The moon is shining down to the sea making a straight reflection of it all the way to the shore.

But you’re interest isn’t at all on the perfect view of the sea and moon in front of you, but on the blonde girl who you can’t seem to keep your eyes off the whole night. You ache to touch her. To kiss her. To show her this hunger you have had for her ever since the first moment you laid your eyes on her. To undo what you have done. To touch her with gentleness and make her feel pleasure that would wash away all the troubles that are within her. If only you can do that without forcing yourself onto her.

For the millionth time this night, you feel like smacking yourself again for being caught staring when she turns to you and asks for another glass. She walks around the table and looks at the chess board again.

“Which color are you playing?” She questions as she looks up at you.

“Black.” You answer briefly.

“You’re king is in danger.” She tells you, hiding an amused smile from the glass she’s sipping from.

When you inspect the board again, you see that it really is and you wonder how you could have missed that. She must be really good at this game for noticing.

“Play with me.” She doesn't have time to refuse because you are already pulling out the chairs on opposite sides of the table so you two can sit on them.

“Do you play often?” She inquires innocently.

“Very frequently. John and I play this all the time and we make bets on it. There’s really not many things you can do around here, so we use this to pass time.

“In that case, this won’t take very long.” She says very confidently, letting you know that she’s going to blow you away at this game.

“Are you planning to beat me at this game?” You raise a brow arrogantly at her.

“I don’t have to plan it because I’m sure I will.” Piper tells you pointedly. She looks so bent on winning something over you, even if it’s only in the form of this game and you’re glad that she’s warming up a little. You’re night is turning out so much more fun than what you expected.

As the game progresses, she makes her moves skilfully, confident that she can win this game and show you that she’s better than you in something. At first, you were bold and quick with your moves but after thirty five minutes, the play had already slowed down considerably and it’s becoming apparent to the two of you that it’s not that easy to beat the other.

She captures your knight on her next move. “It seems like you’re really serious with your threat in making me lose.” You say with frank admiration in your eyes.

She chuckles at what you said and tells you in return, “Yes, but not nearly as easily as I had hoped for. And I recognized how good you are in this game three moves before you became aware of how good I am, so that alone should have cost you this game.” Her beautiful smile is blinding when it’s this close. You need to concentrate though, you must not lose to her easily.

“I apologize for disappointing you,” You reply mockingly.

“I’m sure you’re absolutely delighted to ‘disappoint me’ and you know it!” Piper laughs.

Already into the second game, the first having ended in a stalemate, Piper has gone frombeing a little ill at ease to comfortable and relaxed. She has calmed so much that you, from time to time, have to shake your head from disbelief that you are here with her, doing this and even having fun. By the time you are in the middle of the game, both of you are already heckling one another outrageously from being a little drunk, and you find out more and more how intelligent Piper is and that she has a very competitive nature in her.

With her elbows already propped up on the table and her chin cupped in her hands, Piper watches you as you reach for your bishop.

“How unwise..” She advises you. Of course you ignore it and continue with your planned move.

 “You are not fit to give your opinions on my strategy after that last reckless move of yours.” You tell her with a wicked grin.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She muses while tapping her perfectly shaped fingernails on an empty space on the table as she contemplates on how to counter the move you just made. Leaning forward, she puts down her tower into position, then resting her chin on her hands again.

Each time she reaches across the board, it affords you glimpses of how full her breasts are because her blouse is a little loose in the neckline and hangs low every time she leans forward. It’s taking every ounce of your self-control to concentrate on the game. Long ago, she had already abandoned her slippers and now sits curled up on the chair with her legs tucked beneath her. With her luxuriant blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders and her gray blue eyes glowing with mischief, she presents such a charming and captivating picture that you’re torn between shoving the chess table aside, drawing her into your lap and letting your hands revel in the richness of her and the delightful desire to simply sit back in your chair and feast your eyes upon her.

She manages to be not only an alluring woman but also a mischievous, wise and fun girl. She is a study of an intriguing contrast because, in the course of one evening, she had treated you with cool disdain, rebellion, playfulness and breezy imprudence. You find her utterly exhilarating. And she plays one hell of a good chess game.

In the spirit of the relaxed atmosphere that you two have been enjoying, Piper raises her eyes and inquires at you while smiling, “Are you contemplating your next move or regretting your last one?”

You let out a loud laugh at what she just said, your sound echoing all over the property. It’s been so long since you can remember having a good time like this. Exactly the same thought runs through the mind of a certain friend you’ve had for a very long time, who is lurking behind the curtains in one of the houses, the darkness of the room concealing his presence. John would never spy on you but he couldn’t stop his intrigue when he heard you laugh earlier and couldn’t believe that it came from you.

“No. I was actually wondering why I considered playing with you when clearly you are no match for my skills.” You tell her devilishly.

“You’re cocky.” Piper laughs. “I can’t imagine why I’m wasting my time on such a weak opponent either."

Thirty minutes later, Piper’s blonde head bends on the table as she contemplates the success of her strategy. She thinks she owns this game already.

“How perverse of you to manoeuvre me into such an impossible position.” She says faking a complaint, smiling to herself as you make the move that she was anticipating you would.

“You think you have me trapped huh?” You tell her with willingness. A slow roguish smile flashes across your face as you make your move for the kill. “Check mate.”

“Check mate?” Piper repeats in disbelief as she looks at the board. From confidently sipping on her glass of wine thinking that she has everything in control, she reassesses her vulnerability. You can see from her face that it’s dawning on her that she really has been check-mated! No possible moves left for her to salvage her king.

Slowly she raises her eyes to you while you bask in the unconcealed admiration written on her face. When she speaks, her voice is full of admiration. “You tricked me!”

You throw your head to laugh once again. “I tricked you?!”

“Yes you did. How could you lure a helpless girl into a game at which you are obviously a master?” Piper quips and smiles dazzlingly.

“I did not, you practically told me that you were going to beat me at this game.” You state clearly. “Shall we finish the game or will you deny me the triumph by claiming that I tricked you?”

“No,” Piper says with good nature, “I surrender completely.”

Her answer hangs in the silence of the night. Imagine if she had said those words under different circumstances. “I was hoping you would.” You say quietly.

You lean back in your chair and stretch your long legs out beside the table. Relaxed and comfortable, you turn your head to look at the view of the sea that’s in front of you. Unbeknownst to your knowledge, Piper is studying you as she sips from her wine. She has the strange feeling that behind your relaxed exterior there is forcefulness, a power, carefully restrained at the moment, but waiting. She feels that if she makes a wrong move, a mistake, you would unleash that force on her. She needs to be careful.

“I don’t know what time it is but I think it’s time for me to retire to bed.” She says softly.

Your gaze shifts from the view to her. “Not until I see you smile again.” You think it’s the alcohol that’s making you say this. This time though, with how light you’re feeling, you don’t care anymore.

She blushes at what you said and feels shy under your gaze but tries to hide it by throwing a jest at you.“First you lure me into a chess game, then you outwit me, and now you want to claim a reward from me for doing so. You have no mercy!” She jokes at you to hide her embarrassment. She senses that you’re getting bolder with how you’re looking at her now.

“I think I should go now.” She tells you once again.

You stand up from your chair, tipping a little. Now that you’re no longer sitting, you can feel how much wine is in your system. You haven’t taken your eyes away from her the whole time as you watched her stand up from her chair too. You can feel all your body yearns to be near her and you find it hard to control it now, since you’ve been wanting it the whole night and it’s getting harder to control as the time passes.

You stop an inch from her and say in a deep voice. “Thank you for this delightful evening,” You can’t take your eyes off her lips. You miss them and your lips have been dying to feel hers again.

She sees the look in your eyes and her heart begins to hammer uncontrollably while warning bells begin going off in her head.

“Please don’t stand so close,” she whispers desperately. “It makes me feel like a prey that’s about to be pounced on by some predator.”

Your eyes smiles but your voice is quiet and seductive. “I want to kiss you.” All inhibitions are forgotten now and you want her to know how much you want her. You know you’re going to regret this in the morning but right now you couldn’t care less.

“Don’t kiss me! I still haven’t forgiven you for the last time that you did,” She says while backing away but also trying to handle you in this state.

“Then I’m afraid you’re going to have to forgive me again.”

“I'm warning you, I won’t forgive you! And we’ll never be friends if you do.” She says, trying to use the agreement that you two had earlier. But right now, all you can think about is giving in to this hunger of yours.

“A terrifying possibility, but I’ll risk it.” You murmur huskily as you draw her into your arms and hungrily kiss her. The shock of the contact is electrifying. Piper stands there motionless, hoping that you would just give her a peck but when your hands move down her back as you mold her body tighter to yours. She thinks of fighting it but at the same time she’s caught on how different this kiss is from before.  

At first, you think that she’s not moving because she is scared of angering you so she just lets you have your kiss. But later on you feel her body responding to the kiss that you’re stealing from her. You kiss her thoroughly and insistently, until you feel her melt into your arms. And when her lips quiver and part a little, you pull her into you impossibly closer and plunge your tongue into her mouth. Piper surrenders helplessly to the demands of what your tongue and hands are doing to her, feeling some unknown excitement that produces a heated sensation at the pit of her stomach. You’re so aroused by the feel of her mouth, tongue and body pressed intimately against you that you feel your mind going numb. Dead. The only thing that’s keeping it alive is the feelings that Piper brings to you.

She, on the other hand, feels as if she were two people, one warm and yielding, the other paralyzed with alarm.

When you finally drawback, she lets her head fall into your chest. Disoriented, bewildered and furious at herself and at you for letting that kiss happen.

You let her. Understanding what she’s feeling but at the same time not feeling sorry for what you did.

“Can I ask your forgiveness now or should I wait?” And when Piper lifts her rebellious eyes to you, you release her from you and say “I think I’d better wait.”

When she still has not spoken a word after a couple of minutes you try to bring back the atmosphere from earlier when you two were bantering with each other.

“Was the kiss so good that I have rendered you speechless?” You ask her teasingly.

Piper can't make a sound from her constricted throat. Feeling so confused right now and loathing herself for not being able to resist you.

“Please let me go to my room now,” she manages to say quietly and very seriously so you think it best not to attempt to talk to her anymore tonight.

You make a gesture that tells her that she can leave now and when she does, you slowly walk behind her up to the villa that she’s using.

While walking you can’t stop thinking about the kiss that you two just shared and that Piper responded to it. A small light of hope is escaping from the once very dark thought that she could also like you. You must erase from her mind though that you’re someone she must stay away from.

When you two reach the door to her room, she stops knowing that you’re following her and hesitantly turns to you like she wants to say something.

“Can I answer my family’s letter?” she asks with sadness in her eyes, if you could only make that sadness disappear with just a snap of your fingers.

A thought comes to your mind. Something that might help take her mind off these things. Tomorrow, you will take her there.

“Yes, you can.” You assure her. Then without saying goodnight she walks inside and closes it.

You stand there for a little while, staring at her door. You can’t peel yourself away from her, finding it difficult to go back to your own room when the subject of your desire is here. On the same property as you but you can’t have her. You can’t be with her.

_For now…_

What you do not know is, that behind that door, Piper is leaning on it with a turbulent emotions going through her, wondering to the Gods why her life has turned this way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the ones written in Italic form are inside thoughts of Alex. It’s her thoughts that do not lie and do not cover up anything when her conscious self sometimes does. Do not paint her as someone who is virtuous because she’s not. She’s entitled and is used to getting what she wants but we’ll see what Piper will do to her. Not to change her, cause I don’t believe it is our duty to change the people that we care deeply for. All we can do is to love them until they realize they must change themselves for the better. Why am I rambling?! Ok.. Please tell me what you think.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be in the 3rd person’s objective. Enjoy!

Piper lay awake until dawn, trying to understand what happened earlier. How could she respond that way to her? She knows the brunette wants her, she knew that from the first week she was here, with how she looks at her like she’s going to pounce on her. That or destroy her. She doesn’t understand why she gets this feeling of being so vulnerable around her. Defenceless. Like Alex can own her. She's potent but she exudes this magnetic energy that's so prevailing, Piper admits to herself that she’s intrigued by it. Even though all the warning signs are there, to stay away as far away as possible, she just can't help herself. The other woman can be so compelling especially now that she found out tonight that the brunette can be very charming as well. Not to mention that she’s very easy on the eyes too. Gorgeous and very dangerous at the same time. Piper knows very well what the powerful brunette is capable of, she has, after all, been on the receiving end of her wrath before.

But tonight she’s more confused as to how the other woman raised such turbulent, consuming emotions out of her, how she managed to take her in her arms and sweep away all of her plans, and get past her guard and her sense of decency.

Piper rolls over, burying her face in her pillow. From this night forward, Piper thinks that she will carefully avoid being in that kind of situation again. Any future contact with her will have to be brief, impersonal and just civil. Her mistake, and she will never, never make it again, was that she enjoyed her company so much tonight, been so disarmed by her relaxed persona, that she had started thinking of Alex as a friend.

Friend! She thought bitterly, rolling over onto her back and stare at the ceiling. Piper thinks a snake would make a more trustworthy friend than her! She’s so unpredictable. One moment she’s trying to intimidate and patronize her, then next moment she’s seducing her. She thinks that the enigmatic woman would even try to seduce a nun inside a church if she put her mind to it. She would go to any length to make any conquests, Piper is sure of this. The harder Alex has to try, the more difficult her prey makes it for her, the better she seems to enjoy it.

All these thoughts were circulating inside Piper’s mind while Alex, who was on the other side of the house was also tossing and turning inside her room, trying so hard with all her might to get some rest and not to break down the door, storm inside Piper’s room and show the blonde girl all the want that’s pulsating in every nerve inside her body.

/

Piper brushes her hair while sitting in front of the dresser as she watches Miss Claudette talk while arranging some things inside the room.

“Her papa was a tyrant and abusive to her when she was growing up, I was the one who was always left to comfort Miss Alex when they left on one of their trips. And they left her all the time when she was little.” Miss Claudette answers Piper's question about the Miss's family as she folds some clothes to be put inside the drawers. The old lady is careful about offering some information about Alex’s background, knowing how she doesn’t like telling people about her life story. But the old lady knows that maybe this would help make Piper understand her Miss a little and not hate her so much if she knew what she was really like.

“Miss Alex was a very sweet little girl. She even knew the names of all the people that worked for her father, down to the gardener and greeted them all the time.” Piper finds it hard to imagine a cute little girl, walking around the grounds of her house cheerily greeting everyone. It’s so different from the grown up Alex that she has come to meet.

The first time Miss Claudette tells Piper her Miss’s name, she found it pretty and strong at the same time and thought about how much it suits the brunette. Although they haven’t called each other by name, Piper knows that the other girl knows hers as well.

“One time, when she was six years old, she asked me to bake a cake for the driver’s wife when she learned that she was giving birth at the hospital. She would always bring little flowers for me when she was outside playing.” Miss Claudette continues as she places a dress to hang inside the cabinet.

Piper smiles at the thought of that and thinks to herself how a child can grow up and become so different. The old woman answers that question as if she had heard her thoughts.“I use to wonder a lot how he could have fathered such a sweet little child. But despite being a hard man, Alex loved him so much. She would stay up late at night just to wait up on him, or whenever she knew he would be returning but every time he was supposed to, he never failed to disappoint her. Setting her aside or only noticing her when he finds something to criticize her about. Oh, but despite all that, Alex idolised her father so much. It broke my heart watching her all those times.”

“Where is he now?” Piper wonders. Miss Claudette catches Piper’s eyes in the mirror and realizes that she has said enough. Alex would be mad at her if she knew she had been telling Piper about her childhood.

“Oh! Would you look at the time! It’s almost lunch and I still haven’t told the other maids what we need to cook.” She says as she hurriedly puts the clothes away, but before she reaches the door she turns to Piper once again and asks, “Are you ready for tomorrow?”

Miss Claudette had informed Piper this morning when she brought her breakfast that Alex wants to take her somewhere tomorrow morning. Piper was reluctant at first, thinking how Alex could just snap orders at her and tell her what she wants without asking. But Miss Claudette was always good in reasoning with her and explaining Alex’s side. Like right now when the old woman was telling her the story of her Miss’s childhood, Piper can’t help but feel charity over the little girl who was so sweet that she’d ask her maid to bake cakes for other people. She has to admit, she’s intrigued by Alex, not only to what her real role in all of this that’s happening in her life is, but also to who she really is. There’s something about the brunette that fascinates Piper, like looking into a fire, she knows she will get burned but it’s so enigmatic that it still makes her want to touch it. She intends to find out everything while she’s here but she has to be careful.

“Yes, tell her I’ll be ready.” Piper says decidedly.

“Oh, I almost forgot, Alex wants you to join her for breakfast tomorrow.” Miss Claudette adds before closing the door.

/

The next morning, Alex thought of trying to make amends with her guest because of how badly she treated her the other night. When she saw Piper enter the dining hall, she goes directly to her and waves to show her where to sit. Piper decided to wear a jacket when she left the villa because it was a little chilly this morning. Alex goes behind Piper and startles a little her when she suddenly politely inquires, "May I?" to take her jacket off for her.

“Thank you,” Piper replies civilly, pushing back the jacket as she unfastens the zipper with as much speed as possible because she can feel Alex’s hand on her shoulder. Her touch reminded her of the way Alex had held and caressed her the other night.

During breakfast Piper sat across from Alex while maintaining a cool, formal silence between the two of them. Alex attempts to talk to her but the blonde girl’s distant and polite gestures annoy her.

Miss Claudette walks in to bring out the fruit on a very large tray and then sets it on the table quickly so she can get back to the kitchen.Piper smiles at the thought of Miss Claudette.This doesn't go unnoticed by Alex but she mistook the smile, thinking that the girl across her was beginning to warm up.

“I hope that smile is a sign that your opinion about me has softened.” Alex drawled lazily.

Piper snaps her head around. “I have no opinion on you,” she lied.

“I know you have a very strong opinion of me, Piper.” She says chuckling. She’d rather banter with her if it means that she will hear what the blonde girl thinks than have her treating her aloofly. After what happened the other night, she’s sure Piper will distance herself and be more guarded around her. She must find another tactic to catch her interest.

As for Piper, it was the first time that she had heard Alex mentioning her name. For sure, she thinks, it is to get a reaction from her, to feel closer. She must watch out for her next move. But she reminds herself that she must not be intimidated by her hostess.

Breakfast is like a feast.

Piper was toying with her scrambled egg, feeling so full from eating so much and feeling uncomfortable from being seated across from Alex. Alex's playing a hostess this morning with a natural, relaxed elegance that Piper reluctantly admires. Alex was taunting and goading her all during breakfast that by the time they were drinking coffee she is forced to break her self-imposed silence when she notices that Alex has been staring at her. “It’s not polite to stare at someone that way.” She tells her, while meeting the brunette’s eyes.

“Well, you will find soon that I don’t have many good manners.” Alex says while grinning at Piper’s angry face.

“Yeah, you have the manners of a barbarian.” Piper says calmly, while Alex throws her head back and laughs.

Alex wants to keep her talking so she thinks of a question that would pick the blonde’s interest.

“I was wondering if there is any particular game you would enjoy other than chess?” Her amused, dark brown eyes lock onto Piper's in silence.

“Yes,” Piper says, boldly returning her gaze. “Darts.”

A sly smile flickers across the brunette’s features. “If I had any darts, which I don’t, I wouldn’t dare to be within your range.”

“I warn you that I’m very excellent at it.” Piper continues.

“Which is why, I would not care to be within your range.” Alex says pointedly, grinning and lifted her cup to her as a gesture of salute. Piper accepts it with a nod and gives her an irrepressible sideways smile.

Alex watches her, wanting more than anything to snatch Piper into her arms, to kiss the laughing mischief from her lips until she's clinging to her, melting with desire. She leans back into her chair and relishes the knowledge that she has finally battered down Piper's wall of cold indifference.

“We’re leaving in an hour. I want to take you island hopping.” Alex says in her usual commanding tone which never fails to catch Piper's attention. It angers her a little how she never asks but just merely states whatever she wants, but she chose to stay quiet.

“We can talk better in a relaxed and beautiful environment, and maybe get to know each other better with no one else disturbing us.” Alex tells her.

It was on the tip of Piper’s tongue to retort that the last thing she wants is to be somewhere with her alone. She still hasn't figured out this whole emotion that Alex brings out of her and she doesn’t want anything to happen that would confuse her even more. She's in such an emotional turmoil, she can't trust herself to speak.

Alex stands up and walks behind Piper’s chair, bringing her the jacket.

“I’m not cold anymore.” Piper informs her, trying to shrug the jacket off and take it from Alex’s hand.

“Let me!”

Infuriated by her imperious tone, Piper stands up but takes the jacket away from Alex. But when she struggles with it Piper’s temper ignites, sending a flush of hot color to the soft curve of her cheeks. “You are so rude.... over bearing...” She clamps her mouth from frustration and rage when she sees the glint of laughter in Alex's dark brown eyes.

“Go on,” Alex encourages,” I believe you left off at overbearing.”

She's itching to slap the mocking grin from Alex's face but instead she draws a long breath and says. “You know, I hated you from the first moment I met you and even if I did agree to be friends, my hatred still intensifies with every encounter since then.” Piper says while staring fixedly at her.

Alex studies her face for a long silent moment and thinks that maybe she should stop taunting the blonde so much. “I’m very sorry to hear that,” she says softly.” “Because I thought that you were the loveliest, most enchanting creature God ever created.”

Alex is startled with what she just said. There’s no use hiding her attraction from the blonde but she’s not ready to reveal any real feelings yet.

Piper's surprised too by the gentle caress in the brunette’s voice, she searches her face for signs of sarcasm but finds none.

Seeing that she still has Piper’s full attention, Alex takes the chance to use the situation in her favour by reaching out to trace the blonde's cheeks with her forefingers. “And the other night when you were in my arms, you gave no signs of this hatred that you say… In fact, you seemed to enjoy it.”

With that last words Piper’s softening features return to being angry. “I didn’t enjoy one bit of it! In fact... I found them..” Piper desperately searches for the right words to use, hampered by the truth that they both know, her traitorous body did respond to her caresses that night. “I found them... disturbing!”

Alex brushes her knuckles along her chin, up to her earlobe, sending shivers down Piper's spine. “Those were very disturbing for me as well..” Alex murmurs quietly.

“Yet you didn’t stop even if I told you to!” She yells in an outburst. “Even now, this very minute, I can tell you’re waiting for an opportunity to... to pounce on me!”

“True,” she admits. “I’m drawn to you like a moth is to a flame.” Her forefingers press against Piper's trembling lips, tracing them, wanting nothing more than to feel them again on her own.

Piper swallows and quickly looks away. Sirens are blaring inside her head again, just like every other time Alex got this close to her. She feels so confused and miserable. She no longer feels so sure that Alex is a person that she must stay away from, yet feeling not anymore sure of that either.

“If you don’t mind, I’m tired. Can I go back to my room first before we leave?” Not wanting to appear rude cause despite the different emotions that Alex brings out in her, she reminds herself of the once sweet little girl that this fiery woman in front of her was. And she must have some admirable qualities somehow for choosing to help her and make her stay in her house.

Alex nods at her and says. “I’ll let you know when it’s time to leave,” before completely dismissing her.

/

Yesterday Alex was informed that her parent’s yacht is not available because it needs some fixing so she asked John to call a family friend who owns a vacation house at the other island and owns a boat they can use. The family doesn’t live there so they sometimes rent out their boat.

Afterexactly an hour the boat arrives, and after docking, Alex sees from afar a familiar looking face she knew when she was a teenager from social functions she had attended with her parents. As the figure closely approaches her she can make out that it really is Larry Bloom, the son of the rich family who own this boat.

Why is he here? And why is he the one operating the boat? The last time Alex heard about him, he was in Europe doing god knows what.

He approaches her with a wide smile on his face. “Hi, Alex! It’s so good to see you! I hope you still remember me?” He greets the brunette with enthusiasm. Yeah, Alex does remember him but the last time she saw him, he didn’t look this good. He was a scrawny little kid and had a bad haircut but right now, the one standing in front of her looks so different.  The grown-up version that’s standing in front of her is undeniably handsome, with black hair and piercing, gold-flecked brown eyes.

Alex gives him a polite smile. “Yeah, of course I remember you.” She needs to satisfy her curiosity as to why he’s here so much that she doesn't even wait for him to explain and asks him herself, “Why are you here?”

“Well, I just arrived two days ago. I’m vacationing here and since I heard yesterday that you needed a boat, I decided to operate it myself so in that way, I can catch up with an old friend and go around the islands at the same time.” He beams.

Alex does not like his idea one bit and is about to cancel the whole thing but when she turns around she sees Piper already approaching. She’s wearing a yellow floral dress that matches the color of her hair and makes her look like she’s shining while making her way toward the two of them.

“Who is that lovely lady right there?” Larry asks, Alex completely forgotten in front of him, as if he was completely hypnotized by Piper’s appearance alone.

Alex decided, she doesn’t like Larry one bit.

Piper, completely clueless as to what the two were talking about before she arrived just smiles at Larry, thinking he might be Alex’s acquaintance.

Larry is obviously waiting for Alex to introduce the two of them but the brunette is still preoccupied in her contemplation on cancelling the whole plan that she doesn't see right away,how with a complete ease, Larry steps in front of Piper and takes her hand to shake it.

“Hi, my name is Larry. Alex and I know each other from way back and I’ll be happy to take you two beautiful ladies around to see the island.” Alex watching Larry,becomes annoyed that all this time he hasn't let go of the blonde’s hand.

She is about to say something but she sees Larry already ushering Piper onto the boat, talking to her about how beautiful the island is and that he can’t wait to show her the places that he knows they might like.

Cursing under her breath, she follows the two of them onto the boat, looking at Larry’s smiling face and wanting to wring his neck with her bare hands. But what she hates even more is the look that Piper is giving Larry back.

This is not how she planned this trip to go. She hates how this day is going already.


	8. Chapter 8

_Continuation..._

The first place Larry decides to take them is to the coral garden located in the middle of the sea, half a mile from Alex’s island. Even though Larry has been overseas for years, he still knows the different islands the places like the back of his hand, and he doesn’t fail to make it known to the two ladies how knowledgeable he is, offering every bit of information that one can know about certain parts of the island they were visiting, the resources that can be found there, and the sea creatures inhabiting the place.

From the way he speaks, you know that he’s very smart and passionate about what he’s talking about. He has also made a lot of effort to raise awareness and funds to rehabilitate the area and help fisher folks make their livelihood more productive.

He shares all this information with the two ladies while on the way to their first destination, and Alex just hates how Piper is so impressed by all of it. She can see in the blonde’s eyes how enthralled she is to know that this person is doing such good things for the environment, knowing how Piper is into everything that has to do with nature too.

When they stop in the middle of the sea to look at the different colors of the beautiful corals that are nearly touching the surface of the water, Larry assists Piper by holding her hand and waist so she can see better the sea life below.

After a few minutes, Piper tells him that she’s seen enough, but when the blonde turns, she sees a very quiet and serious Alex looking at them. She wonders what’s been going through the brunette’s head all this time. Alex has been very quiet this whole trip, eyeing Larry like she’s silently shooting daggers at him although Piper doesn’t know what to make of Alex sometimes because in this short span of time she has been with her, Piper has noticed that the brunette can be quiet and reserved at times.

The two of them silently observe one another while Larry, oblivious to the tense atmosphere between the two, continues to explain to them how important the corals are to the fish and other wildlife.

Alex tries to conceal her irritation by acting like she’s listening to everything that Larry is explaining. She’d be damned if she let’s anybody know that she’s disturbed or even threatened by anybody’s presence.

The next destination in their journey, Larry informs them, is the wishing island. On the way there, Larry asks if Piper wants to try to hold the wheel of the boat, and Alex rolls her eyes when she sees how Piper smiles and happily agrees to it.

Larry has also tried to engage Alex into a conversation, but seeing how the brunette only answers in monosyllables, he decides to leave her alone thinking that maybe she’s just not in the mood. This has not gone unnoticed by Piper, and she feels bad about how rude the brunette is acting when Larry has been nothing but nice, showing them around and acting like such a hospitable host that Piper makes up for them when Larry addresses Alex and asks her questions. When Alex doesn’t respond, Piper answers for her and throws an apologetic smile with it.

Of course this makes Alex more furious, and if she could only throw Larry overboard, she would have already done so awhile ago.

When it’s almost noon, Larry decides to take them to the vanishing island so they can have their lunch there. Alex has visited the place before. There’s a cottage in the middle of it, and when it’s high tide, the whole island disappears, and the only thing that remains visible to the eye is the cottage that’s standing on the island. It’s a breathtaking sight, especially at night.

They serve the most delicious variety of seafood you can have in their restaurant.

After docking, Larry goes down first then Alex follows him. Noticing how the steps are a little steep, Alex turns to hold out her hand to Piper, concerned that the blonde might stumble on her steps, but to her surprise, Larry, wanting to act like a gentleman, moves Alex to the side so he can take Piper’s hand instead saying, “It’s fine, I’ll take her.”

The brunette smiles at him with clenched teeth, but only a person who knows Alex very well can tell that she’s fuming deep inside with the nerves that are showing in her temples.

/

The food is superb, but Piper does not enjoy lunch one bit.

The two people that she is having it with look like they are in two different worlds.

Larry is clearly flirting with her. It’s so blatant that she feels very uncomfortable, especially with Alex there. The brunette is not showing any sign that any of this is affecting her. But why would it affect her, Piper thought. She knows the brunette has a thing for her, but it couldn’t be more than that. If it is, Piper would find some sort of reaction from her now, especially when Larry asks if Piper’s dating anyone.

Piper notices Alex looking up from her plate when she is asked that question, and when Piper answers no, the brunette continues with her food as though she heard nothing. When Larry adds that he can’t believe that a beautiful lady like her could still be single, Piper nearly squirms in her seat while Alex continues munching on her food looking uninterested with what’s going on in front of her.

Piper almost feels pity for Larry when at the middle of lunch, he attempts once again to include Alex into the conversation by asking “Hey Alex, how are your parents?” But the feisty brunette cuts him off immediately by answering, “I don’t like talking about them,” and just drinks her wine, looking unapologetic with how curtly she has replied.

Larry just shrugs at Piper and continues with his food too. Piper thinks that he’s being such a gentleman about it, not taking any offense at how the brunette is acting.

She, on the other hand, wants to wring Alex’s neck.

What’s wrong with her? Wasn’t she the one who planned this in the first place?

When Larry excuses himself to go to the bathroom, the two of them are left in a very uncomfortable silence.

After a couple of minutes, impatient with how Alex is acting, Piper decides to break the silence by asking, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” Alex answers, smiling then gulping down all of her wine.

“Are you enjoying your day of flirtation with our tour guide? Do you want me to ask if he charges by the hour as he does his boat too?” Alex adds. She knows that what she just said is below the belt, but she can’t keep her anger contained anymore.

Piper can’t believe what she just heard. Of all the—How dare she say that! “You’re unbelievable!” she hisses at her.

“It’s because you’re so horrible that you can’t believe someone can be capable of being purely nice like Larry is doing!” Piper adds angrily under her breath.

Alex was about to snatch Piper’s arm after the blonde’s last comment, but Larry struts in and asks “Everything all right, ladies? Did you enjoy your lunch?” totally unaware of the argument that the two are having.

He noticed how flushed Piper looks and doesn’t hesitate to bring his hand to touch her cheek. “You look red, are you all right?” He asks looking so concerned.

“Yes, I am. I’m just hot,” Piper answers immediately, pulling away from his touch. She feels shy with the attention that Larry’s giving her and also more uncomfortable that Alex can hear all of it, knowing what she already thinks.

The two of them look like an engaged couple, looking lovey-dovey, with him concerned about Piper and her, loving all the attention that he’s giving her. Alex can’t take any of this anymore, so she suddenly stands up. But in doing so, she tips over her glass, making it spill all over the table. The brunette looked at it for a second then left the table, managing to say a small sorry for what she did then leaving her companions looking surprised.

Piper is not surprised at all. She knows why the brunette is acting this way, but what she doesn’t understand is why she was this angry. Is she jealous? She knows that Alex wants her, wants to sleep with her - that much she knows. Piper is so frustrated with her hostess because she doesn’t understand a lot of things that are going on, but Piper has no choice because she needs her.

She acts on whatever she likes and takes whatever she wants, Piper thought angrily. She may be helpless, but she won’t be treated like she’s a thing that the brunette owns. Even insinuating that she wants to sleep with Larry! That last thing makes Piper angry so much that she thinks of showing the brunette that she can do whatever she wants and that she’s not someone that the brunette can just push around.

Larry was so good natured that he didn’t bother letting that small incident dampen their trip. He’s still talking like his natural positive self, even throwing jokes at Piper when they return to the boat, but he is careful enough not to bother Alex anymore.

For the remainder of the trip Larry asks Piper to sit closer to the wheel of the boat because he has been telling her different stories about his explorations. Piper learns that like her, he also loves to travel a lot. She admits that he’s handsome and has a nice body, not to mention also very charming. If she was not so confused over her situation, she might actually like him. But she can’t even think of that right now when she feels like there’s a large dark brunette cloud looming over her. Piper used to be so good in controlling her emotions, but she’s wondering and irritated at how she seems to be having that problem now when it comes to the brunette.

Her attention shifts to Alex who is sitting at the front of the boat, looking out to the sea, her dark long hair, blowing against the wind. The brunette looks so calm sitting there right now that Piper almost wants to join her. But she knows better and quickly turns her full attention to Larry again.

Larry takes them around for the islands one last time to see the sanctuary of giant clams before heading home since it’s just on the way back to Alex’s island. It’s the first time that Piper has seen such creatures, and she is in complete awe over it. The clams are almost as big as she is, giants! Like a true guide, Larry informs her all about the endangered clams and the efforts that the local people are doing to save them.

Whenever Alex looks their way, Piper never fails to be extra attentive to what Larry is saying and throws extra smiles with it. Even throwing her head back when she’s laughing at some things Larry says just to let Alex know how much she’s enjoying her time with him. To show the brunette that she’s not had this much fun with someone ever since she arrived here. That will show her that she can’t govern her every move, Piper thinks.

It’s almost sun down when they head back and once they dock at her property, Alex can’t wait to get off the fucking boat. She overhears Piper telling Larry how she had the most wonderful time and thanking him for all that he did.

“It’s nothing. I would gladly do it again if it’s for you.” Larry answers, and Piper smiles shyly at what he said.

Alex’s jaw is clenching into a tight line of rage. With a deceptive casualness, Alex strolls past them, and her eyes turn icy with contempt when she realizes that Larry is about to take Piper’s hand to place a kiss on it.

Too angry to attempt to hide her hatred, her head snaps to Piper, thinking how the blonde must be dying to be with him, judging how she’s looking at him right now.

Something shatters inside Alex, splintering all her emotions from rational control, and she stands behind Piper. When the blonde notices how Larry’s faces changes upon seeing Alex’s reaction to his kiss to her hand, she half turns toward Alex.

“Take your hands off her!” Alex snarls and with that she catches Piper’s wrist in a vice-like grip and turns on her heel, dragging the blonde with her.

Piper runs, trying to keep up with Alex but not before throwing an apologetic look at Larry who they left looking puzzled at what just happened.

“Stop this! You’re hurting me!” Piper pants, stumbling on her steps. Alex jerks her wrist up with such cruel force that a pain shoots from her wrist to her shoulder blade.

“How dare you!” Piper hissed, angry and embarrassed at being humiliated, hauled in front of Larry and manhandled all the way to the house.

“Who do you think you are?!” Piper cries.

“Who do you think I am?” Alex jeers. “Why I am a monster! By your own words, you said so!”

Piper stares at Alex, her mind in complete turmoil. She can’t imagine why Alex is so angry over Larry showing her the slightest attention. She thinks that maybe if she reasons well with her, the brunette will understand and stop dragging her all across the lawn. She doesn’t even know where she’s taking her. “Why are you mad, Larry was just being nice. He—“

“Shut up!” Alex snaps. Her dark head twists toward her, and for the first time, Piper actually sees the savage, scorching fury emanating from the woman holding her. Her nice jaw is taut with rage and her mouth drawn into a ruthless, forbidding line. The brunette’s contemptuous eyes rake over Piper before turning her head away.

Never in her life has Piper witnessed such controlled, menacing fury. Her shock fades to hurt and very slowly turns into fear.

“Where are you taking me?” she asks unsteadily.

Alex turns and stares at Piper’s beautiful face. She wants to put her hands around her slender white throat and strangle her for flirting shamelessly with Larry.

Piper is looking for signs of where Miss Claudette might be, maybe she can help with this very unreasonable Alex, but there’s no sign of her.

One of the maids rush out of the kitchen, hearing that the Miss may have arrived. Piper opens her mouth to cry out but then chokes as Alex’s fingers dig more into her flesh.

“Go to bed!” Alex snaps at the girl, who watches them pass with wide, disbelieving eyes.

After reaching her room, Alex effortlessly opens the door, drags Piper inside and forcefully swings her onto the bed. She doesn’t bother to lock the door, knowing no one would dare enter it without her permission, afraid that she would get mad at them.

Piper stands up and tries to think rationally about how she can talk reason to the brunette. She thinks that maybe if she shows the brunette that she can really be her friend, she won’t be like this.

Piper reaches for Alex hands and says, “we can talk about this—“ But Alex’s hand clamps down on her slim hand, wringing a gasp of pain from her.

“I’m delighted that you’re so eager to touch me,” Alex drawls sarcastically, “because in a short while, you’re going to have the opportunity to do exactly that.”

Piper almost screams when Alex’s hand clamps around her arm, jerking her closer to her. “Are you imagining Larry right now, holding you like this?” Are you?!” Alex repeats savagely.

With a pounding heart, Piper thinks that she can’t take her by surprise like what she did before because Alex is watching her with a watchful eye of a hawk, and nor can she overpower her.

 “I hate you!” Piper bursts out.

Alex once again pushes her into the bed. In frozen paralysis, Piper watches her stride past the bed toward the chair across the room. Alex flings herself onto one of the sofas, and minutes pass while she sits there, looking at Piper as if she were some strange and captive animal.

The silence is finally shattered by her order, “Come here, Piper.” The few times the brunette has used her name, it always sends cold shivers to her spine.

Piper’s whole body jerks. She shakes her head and inches backward along the bed toward the pillows, her gaze flying to the windows, then to the doors. Could she possibly reach one of them before Alex could stop her?

“You can try,” Alex commented. “But I promise you’ll never make it.”

Swallowing a panicked sob, Piper sits straighter, struggling against the hysteria welling up in her throat at what the brunette might be planning but trying to think straight as well and find a proper way out of this. Piper tries to reason once again. “About what happened with Larry earlier---“

“Say his name one more time,” Alex lashes out furiously, “and I’ll kill you, so help me God!” And then the brunette becomes frighteningly polite. “Now, are you going to walk over here to me unaided, or must I come and assist you?”

Alex lifts a dark brow at Piper, permitting her a moment to think it over. “Well?” She threatens, half rising from her chair.

Refusing to beg, or to give the brunette the added satisfaction of subduing her, Piper rises from the bed. She tries to hold her head high, to look scornful and proud, but her knees felt like water. Two paces away from Alex, her shaking legs refuse to move again. Piper stands there, staring at her with tear-brightened eyes.

Alex surges to her feet. “Turn around!” she snaps, and before Piper can utter a protest, Alex catches her by the shoulders and whips her around. With one vicious jerk, she rips her dress down the back, and the sound of tearing fabric screams in Piper’s ears.

Piper clumsily attempts to keep the slippery dress clutched to her breasts.

“Don’t cover yourself from me!” Alex shouts as she catches the dress and tears it away from Piper’s clenched fists.

Pain slashes across the brunette’s features as her gaze sweeps over Piper’s almost naked body.

Piper senses a weakness from Alex when she sees that expression. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I don’t want anyone else wanting you!” Alex shouts, all her efforts of controlling her emotions, completely forgotten.

Then it dawns on Piper that the brunette maybe feels more than want for her. That and possessiveness are driving her to do this. Deliberately flirting too much with Larry is what drove the brunette to be like this right now.

Shivering, Piper stares hard at Alex’s face, while her tortured mind desperately superimposes other gentle memories of her, trying to understand what’s driving her to do all this. That even in her rage and irrational behaviour, Piper can see the pain that the brunette is going through right now. Piper sees her laughing and joking with her while they were playing chess. Piper sees her as the little girl picking flowers around her parent’s garden. She sees her this morning after breakfast, looking so tenderly at her while saying _“...you were the loveliest, most enchanting creature God ever created.”_

Piper reminds herself that this woman in front of her is full of rage and want for her. She doesn’t know how to handle the fact that she is the one who saved her from the guys that were about to kill her years ago.

She owes Alex her life. She needs to help the brunette so that she in return can help her better too. But how? Alex is making it so hard, especially with what she’s doing to the blonde now.

Distracted by her own thoughts, she doesn’t see what’s coming to her when Alex all of the sudden takes her into her arms and pushes her into the bed with her, landing on top of Piper. Then the brunette’s mouth comes down on hers, forcefully parting her lips in a deep, languorous kiss.

Despite feeling angry and humiliated earlier, Piper’s very clouded mind is trying to understand why must the brunette feel that she has to punish her for what she did earlier. Why is there a side to her that wants to teach Alex that there is a way to make her do this without forcing herself on the blonde? And why, right now, Alex’s kisses disturb her so much that she doesn’t want to struggle with it anymore?

The brunette frees her other hand to cup her breasts over her bra.

Alex kisses confuse her, but at the same time she can’t understand for the life of her how she feels so alive with them. She has never experienced this kind of passion from anyone ever, and as disturbing as it may sound, Alex’s touches are responsible for awakening this inside her.

Alex mouth burns a hot trail down her throat to the pink tips of Piper’s breasts. Alex has already worked her way to pull the blonde’s bra down to her waist, her tongue teasing, flicking and then circling. Her actions turn gentle when she observes that Piper is not struggling as much anymore. Releasing the blonde a little from her tight grip, she closes her lips around her nipple, drawing hard, and Piper gasps with startled pleasure. Instantly her hands move down the blonde’s thighs, then up between them to cover the soft mound of hair. Alex’s fingers part her and then intimately explore her, sending melting, tingling sensations racing along her nerve endings.

Nuzzling her neck, Alex continues the arousing movement of her hand against her most sensitive part. The brunette traces her finger over her juices and circles her clit to smudge it with her wetness. Her skillful fingers move to linger and tease at the same time that by now, all Piper is feeling are shock waves of desire shooting through every part of her body.

Piper yields helplessly to the hot, searing need that Alex is expertly building within her, while panic is building inside her at the same time. But she can’t stop the ecstasy that she’s feeling now. She can’t help it, no matter how hard she tries. She’s melting under the brunette’s touch.

When Piper looks into Alex’s face, she sees that something is different, wrong in the way Alex is looking at her. For someone who might want her so bad, the brunette’s eyes was lacking with warmth.

Alex’s fingers move within her, and Piper moans in her throat.

“So you like that, do you?” Alex taunts in a low whisper. “I don’t want you to enjoy this too much.”

Alex lifts both her hands and holds them on top of her head while she positions herself on top of the blonde’s body. Piper sees the brunette’s harsh features before she rams, full-length, her two fingers into Piper’s tight core. Searing pain rips through Piper, and she stiffens as she braces herself for the next agonizing pain that will come when Alex enters her again.

A sob escapes through her and when she cries “Please..” that throws Alex from her rage. She sees the blonde’s hurt look, she’s not fighting anymore but just showing a very pained expression.

That’s when she remembers everything.

It’s like the darkness that was possessing her from this intense emotion of jealousy was lifted, and she remembers that underneath her problems with herself, with the extreme passions that she feels for the blonde, she’s not in love with her, of course not, she tells herself, but she wants to take care of her.

But what is she doing now?

The pain never comes because Alex remains withdrawn and motionless.

Through a blurring haze of tears, Piper sees Alex above her. The brunette’s head is thrown back, her eyes clenched shut, her features a mask of tortured anguish. As Piper stares at Alex’s ravaged face, her body jerks with suppressed sobs until the burden of holding them back is more than she can bear. She is crying for so many things. For her situation. For her frustration. For wanting the brunette back when she knows she shouldn’t.

Piper wants to be held, to be comforted, and irrationally, she seeks this comfort from her own tormentor. Shuddering on a lonely, convulsive cry, Piper reaches up around Alex and draws her against her.

With aching gentleness, Alex gathers Piper into her arms and shifts to lie beside her. Without a word, Piper turns her face into the brunette’s chest and weeps, crying her heart out in harsh racking sobs that shake her slender body. Alex lies there, holding Piper’s naked body, stroking the blonde’s hair while punishing herself with each sound of her muffled weeping, lashing at herself with the tears that pour from Piper’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry..” Alex whispers into Piper’s ears.

Alex has never apologised to anyone before, but right now she swears she can spend her whole life apologising to the blonde if it meant that she had the slightest chance of Piper forgiving her.

“Why did you--?” Piper sobs.

“I thought you wanted him... You looked like you were throwing yourself at him.” Alex paused, trying hard to find the next words. “And I can’t bear the thought of that.”

“I wanted to punish you for it.” Alex chooses to tell Piper the truth.

Abruptly, Piper’s crying subsides. “Oh, you did, did you!” she hisses and tears herself from the brunette’s embrace and rolls over to the other side to face the wall. Piper understands that Alex had done this to degrade her, the brunette’s monstrous pride had demanded this unspeakable revenge over some imagined crime.

Alex reaches out to her, gently trying to turn Piper toward her. “If you’ll let me,” she implores, “I’d like to explain.”

“Don’t you dare come near me!” Furiously, Piper shrugs her hands off while still sobbing, a sound that seems to go on forever until she sinks into an exhausted slumber.

Alex lies there beside the only woman she has ever felt deeply for, helpless either to comfort her or regain her.

The brunette stares at the ceiling. How could she have done this, when all she had ever wanted to do was protect and care for her? Instead she has coldly and heartlessly humiliated Piper. Right now Alex feels like she has lost more than she had, for she had managed to lose the only thing she had ever really wanted to possess, this one headstrong, beautiful woman lying beside her. Loathing her.

/

Very early in the morning John has to see Alex to talk to her about an incident that happened while she was away with Piper yesterday.

He saw that there was a breach on one of the property’s fence. The barb wires were cut, and it looked like someone was there, wanting to get inside. He scoured the property looking for signs of whoever it was but didn’t find any. That’s why he was nowhere to be seen when Alex and Piper got back from the trip.

He debriefs Alex about all of this and details all the primary precautions that he and his men are completing in response.

“Your primary job is to protect Piper,” Alex says curtly. “I’ll call someone and find out whoever this asshole is.”

“Do you think Mendez is here?” John asks alarmed.

“If he is, I will find out soon.”

Mendez is a guy with whom Alex had a falling out and who was also responsible for telling the boss about Piper. He had always been jealous with Alex, and when the boss got mad that their operation failed, he offered to tell him about Piper, hoping to be pardoned from the boss’ wrath. Mendez blames Alex for fucking up and losing him big money because of it. The last time Alex saw him, he didn’t fail to let her know that he will get her for that.

Once John left, Alex bows her head and covers her face with her hands. Tired, angry, and frustrated over so many things, and now there is a chance that the people from whom she has been hiding may have found her.

Her mind is brought her to Piper, and she remembers that the blonde could still be in her room. Her weariness disappears as she thinks of how their next encounter might be.

Imagine her surprise when she sees Piper standing in the doorway of the dining area with cold animosity written on her face.

“Can I have a word with you?” Piper asks simply without showing any signs of emotions.

Alex simply points the chair to her and waits for the blonde to be seated.

It seems like an eternity before the blonde finally speaks and when she does, her voice is calm.

“I want to leave. I understand my predicament. I will hide somewhere. Far from my family because I don’t want them to get hurt. Another place, just not here,”  Piper says while drawing a deep breath with her last comment.

The blonde’s words reverberate in the deafening silence of the room. Alex feels weak deep inside, and she doesn’t know how to convince Piper to change her mind because it’s her fault that the blonde has been pushed to decide this. It’s a terrible idea especially with what she has just learned from John. It’s not easy to trespass her property with the amount of men that she has watching over it under John’s supervision, but anyone could be watching their every move right now, waiting to spot a weakness.

She must think of a way.

“You can’t leave. They are here.” Piper’s looks at her with a glint of alarm flashing through her eyes, but she remained reserved.

Piper feels horrible because she knows that Alex is right. She has nowhere to go. She knows that. But one more day living here with the brunette will drive her mad. Piper has no words for Alex. And to add to that, Piper knows that she’s physically attracted to her even though she hates how the brunette goes about things.

“I have a proposition for you.” Alex says. Out of solutions, this is the only way Alex knows that they can face this dilemma as well as her overwhelming attraction to the blonde, an which she knows has not gone unreciprocated by Piper. Whenever she’s in Alex’s arms, she feels Piper responding to her.

“I want you,” she tells Piper directly. “And from the times that I’ve shown you that, I know that you find me attractive too, seeing how you have responded to me.”

“I’m the only one who can help you, no one else. We have to be in this together.”

“I know I’m difficult to be with. But believe me, I may be many things, but only because of how badly I want you.” Despite Piper’s magnificent show of courage and lack of concern earlier, she is on the brink of tears.

Piper can see the truthfulness of the brunette’s words from how she looks right now.

 “Whatever it takes, just so I’ll be free of this situation. And free from you,” Piper swears. Not sure if it’s the right decision but desperately seeking some peace of mind.

She’ll do everything in her power to make the blonde feel the same way about her even resorting to this plan that she had to hurriedly come up now, to change the blonde’s mind from wanting to leave.

“I will give you enough money to live out the rest of your life, to start a new life when all of this is over, if after two months you still wish to leave here.”

“I don’t understand,” Piper says, scrutinizing her face.

 “For two full months, you must agree to be my most obedient guest. During this time, I will endeavour to make myself uhhm.. shall we say, agreeable to you to until the time comes that I have finished this problem.” Alex counts the days that she thinks will give her enough time, to find a way to solve this.

“What?!!” Piper bursts out before she can stop herself. To be agreeable to her? It could mean many things. The thought of Alex purposely trying to charm her is more than she could bear to contemplate, and the thought of her possibly doing all those things to her makes her face burn. With everything that’s happened she’s not sure if she can hold her growing attraction for the brunette. And two months of doing just that?!

“Afraid you’ll fall under my spell?” Alex tries to use the blonde’s competitive nature, unsure of what she’s going to achieve with this but desperate to change the blonde’s mind.

“Certainly not,” Piper lied. If Alex would try to entice her, she knows she won’t stand a chance. She has had a glimpse of how Alex can be pleasing. Anyone would be attracted to her, have you seen her?! The woman is gorgeous.

“I don’t see any reason why you won’t agree to that proposition. It is all in your favour. I will be my most behaved self. I have to be, I don’t want to lose this bet,” Alex states. I don’t want to lose you.

“I will bet you a large fortune that I can make you wish to stay, and maybe you’re afraid you will lose or else you wouldn’t be hesitating,” Alex challenges Piper.

“Does being agreeable include you sleeping with me?” Piper asks hesitantly.

“I wouldn’t say that that’s not going to be a possibility” Alex boldly tells her.

Speechless with that possibility, Piper stares at Alex in disbelief, pink-cheeked.

Alex tries to assure the blonde. “If I force myself on you again, I will fail this bet and I don’t want that”

“This is crazy!” Pipers bursts out, standing up from her chair still in disbelief that Alex would propose this to her.

“I am crazy for you,” Alex tells Piper in her alluring way. “I do not think two months gives me much time - let’s change it to four months now that I think of it.”

“Two months is more than fair!” Piper exclaims.

“Agreed,” Alex baits her. “Two months of being your very caring ‘hostess’ and you to me, and in return for that, shall we say, five million dollars?” She feels bad that she has to resort to this in order to get someone’s affection but, this is her only chance. Piper leaving is not an option.

Piper feels dizzy with all of this coming to her. Five million dollars?! Five million dollars... is a fortune! She has never dreamed of having that kind of money in all her life. She could use the money to help her family. To start that new soap business that she has been wanting to do with her sister before this whole mess started.

“I will give you my protection, but if I lose, think of the money as an offering from a friend. You can use it to start a new life.” Alex suggests.

 “Well..?” Alex inquires.

“Ok.” Piper answers Alex but still can’t believe how bizaare all of this is. “This is crazy.”

“This whole thing has been a crazy arrangement from the start.” Alex tells her.

“Now do I need to put this whole thing into writing or shall we trust one another to keep the terms?”

“Trust!” Piper repeated with a scorn. “I don’t know if I could trust you.”

“I trust you.” Alex tells her very tenderly.

_To be continued......_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have to know well the characters in order to understand what drives them to do what they did.  
> I dunno how readers will react with this chapter.   
> What do you think? Tell me. : )  
> All the places that I mentioned here during the island hopping scene where places that I have been to personally. Message me on tumblr if you want to see a picture of those places and I will post them for you.  
> I would like to thank my lovely new beta Rosa for this chapter. This chapter is for you! x


	9. Chapter 9

_Continuation..._

_“I trust you_..”

The subtle change in tone with those three words seems to carry a lot of underlying meaning that Piper cannot help but sense. She tries to ignore the sudden warmth in Alex’s voice and her steady gaze on her. She decides that the best way to deal with the enigmatic brunette at this point is to remain calm and reserved.

“You’re blushing,” Alex remarks.

“Anyone would blush if boldly presented the prospect of spending two months of.. of...”

“Being with me in my most agreeable self?” Alex asks with a smile in her eyes.

Piper gives her a look that could kill.

Chuckling deeply, Alex says, “Consider the risk I’m taking. What if I fall madly in love with you and then you go off leaving me, taking my money and my heart.” Humour is in her voice, confident that she wouldn’t go that far. She won’t deny that she wants the blonde, is infatuated with her, but love?

Piper thinks hard, then with great uncertainty answers, “Ok, we have a bet.”

“You agree to all the terms?” Alex asks again to be sure.

“Yes,” Piper says stonily and turns her back to Alex, wanting to go back to her room already to contemplate what she’ll do about this situation that she can’t seem to escape when it comes to the brunette. She gets only a few steps towards her villa before Alex’s voices catches her.

“Alex,” the brunette says.

Piper turns and says, “What?”

“My name is Alex. In the future, I would very much like for you to address me like that.”

Calling the brunette by her name seems a little intimate, and Piper is not sure if she can handle that yet. She doesn’t look like she agrees to the idea, so Alex continues speaking. “Be careful, you don’t want to lose the bet in less than five minutes. You promised to be agreeable to me, and I simply ask you to call me by my name,” Alex warns her.

“As you wish,” Piper says, inclining her head.

 “Meet me at the stables later.  John will wait for you here and will show you the way,” Alex calls out to Piper as she walks out the room.

A smile sweeps across her face as she thinks of all the impending situations that may happen when she entices the beautiful but reluctant blonde.

/

Piper was feeling at a loss the whole afternoon. Although afraid of how violently unpredictable and short-tempered the brunette can be, Piper knows that she has to brave her way out of this, and there is no other way but to hold Alex to her word that what happened won’t ever happen again.  

Exhausted from thinking of a plan on how to face her hostess, Piper falls asleep. A couple of hours pass when a knock on the door wakes her up. It is John, announcing that Alex is already at the stables waiting for her.

Irritated, Piper clamps her mouth shut but follows John down the path leading around the side of the house toward the stable.

Piper looks at Alex with withering scorn. Although the brunette is very appealing to the eyes and ignites an unexplainable desire within her, Piper will never stop feeling animosity towards her for what she did. But she has already accepted the offer, and she will face this head on.

Alex studies Piper’s stormy face in a thoughtful silence. “If you will allow me, I would like to apologize again for what I did,” says Alex calmly, aware of how angry the blonde is. For Alex, this is her way in starting to make amends and being agreeable to her guest. “I can’t remember the last time I apologized for anything, so I may be a bit awkward about it.”

Piper thinks about how arrogant and conceited the brunette is that she thinks that she treat her the way she did and then placate her with a few lukewarm words of apology.

“What you did was unspeakable. I won’t accept your apology until you prove yourself, which I find hard to believe that you have in you,” Piper says firmly and brushes past the brunette towards the entrance of the stable.

Alex face darkens with annoyance, and Piper can almost feel the brunette’s struggle to hold her temper in check, but she refuses to turn back.  

Piper looks around the stable and sees an old man, trying to hold a dangerous horse that is lurching and trying to rear. She learned how to ride horses on her grandma’s farm when she was a teenager, and it is still one of the most precious memories that she holds up to this day. She loves the countryside and always looked forward to visiting when she was younger.

Seeing Alex preoccupied with talking to John, Piper walks towards the end of the corridor to look at the magnificent stallion.

“Is he broken to ride?” Piper asks the man.

“Sometimes,” he chuckles. “But most of the time he tries to break the rider. Moodiest animal in the world. One day he’s fit to ride, the next he’ll rub you off on the fences.”

Piper picks up the crop, and the frenzied horse triples his efforts to break free.

“Whoa! Easy now, easy!” Gasps the old man. “Miss, could you put that crop behind you. The animal hates the sight of the thing.”

Piper does as instructed just as Alex enters the stable. Suddenly, an impulsive plan for revenge begins rapidly taking shape in her mind. _This will teach her a lesson_ , Piper thinks.

“If you wish to apologize, I will accept it.” Noticing that the brunette instantly looks suspicious, Piper prods, “Or have you changed your mind?”

“I haven’t changed my mind,” Alex says quietly. “I am really sorry for what I did. I know how I can be, but I will do my best to show you that that won’t ever happen again.” The brunette looks so sincere about what she’s just said as she stretches out her hand toward the blonde.

Fighting the urge to slap the brunette’s hand away, Piper firms her expression, trying to appear as if she’s considering the brunette’s offer. “I would love to ride one of your horses. Do you know how to ride?”

“Adequately. These are my father’s horses. I hear there’s a new horse that just arrived,” Alex responds.

Seeing that the man is nowhere in sight, Piper guesses that he is tending to a different chore elsewhere. “I’ll see a horse for you,” Piper says.

From her experience riding at her grandmother’s during her youth, Piper is good with horses, so it’s no surprise that she is able to handle the stallion by herself all the way outside for Alex to ride. Piper has chosen the dangerous stallion, and she doesn’t share with Alex that the horse requires breaking first. The blonde doesn’t know what she is going to achieve by doing this, but she cannot help but feel that this is a perfect opportunity to avenge herself in the form of the stallion.

“Here’s your ride. Isn’t he wonderful?” Piper smiles and tells Alex as she approaches her.

The blonde jumps back just as the horse’s rear feet punch out. With a tremor in her voice, she quickly explains, “He’s... ah.... very spirited.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Alex agrees.

Afraid that her plan will fail, Piper immediately cuts in, “If you’re afraid to ride the stallion, just say so. I’m sure they can find you another one...like that old horse right there.” Piper nods toward an old horse that’s nibbling contentedly at the grass, its belly hanging down and its backbone sticking out from beneath leathery skin.

A look of revulsion crosses Alex’s features as she follows Piper’s gaze. “Ok, I’ll get the other horse,” the blonde murmurs.

“The stallion will do,” Alex snaps impatiently. “Get on your own horse, and I’ll show you a nice place that my family owns just above that hill. But keep your horse out of my way. I’m going to have enough on my hands with this, and I don’t want to have to worry about you.”

The brunette’s arrogant assumption that she can ride the stallion while she, Piper, can’t handle her own wipes away Piper’s momentary trace of guilt.

Alex places her foot into the stirrup, then eases up and over, settling slowly and carefully into her saddle. She gathers the reins and focuses her concentration on the agitated stallion beneath her. “Easy..” The brunette soothes. “Easy.. Easy..” Her voice slowly calming the horse’s ragged nerves. Piper watches in wide-eyed astonishment at the brunette’s ability to calm the animal. Piper’s worked with horses before and has enough experience with them to pretend to be unimpressed with how well Alex is handling her horse.

A bit lost in admiration, Piper slowly takes the crop out from behind her. Instantly, the stallion jerks up his head and buckles frightfully.

“It’s the crop, drop it!” Alex raises her voice. For a moment, Piper nearly aborts her plan to avenge herself against the brunette.

Panicked, Piper throws the crop, but it lands directly in front of the horse. Raging and violent, the stallion throws himself into the air, breaks out towards the fence as if he is going to crash through it and leaps completely out of control.

“Oh, god,” Piper whispers and watches helplessly as Alex and the stallion tear across the landscape. She can see the stallion rapidly diminishing into a speck on the horizon, but there is no way of telling whether the rider is still up.

Piper is overcome with horror over what she’s just done and rushes onto another horse to race to where she last saw the crazed stallion. After awhile, Piper draws her horse to a stop because she realizes that she doesn’t know where she is going. She keeps searching for Alex while growing increasingly miserable over her actions. How can she atone for this? _Oh my god, Alex..._

Piper’s terrible thoughts and feelings of self-recrimination are interrupted by the sound of rustling from the bushes behind her. Looking over her shoulder, Piper sees Alex getting up and limping from behind them, but the blonde’s attention is immediately halted when she hears thundering of hooves beating towards her. The confused stallion is coming from the perimeter of the woods and bolts into the clearing with wild-eyed confusion, galloping blindly straight towards Piper.

Piper doesn’t have time to react, but Alex somehow is able to charge to her rescue, throwing her body in front of Piper’s horse to shield her from the raging stallion but is seriously hurt when the animal leaps and knocks her to the ground. It would have been Piper had Alex not been fast enough to push her on the side.

Piper immediately dismounts from her horse and crawls to where Alex’s prone body is lying, and her mind is screaming with fear. Is she dead? Piper can only hope that the brunette is not. Piper crouches down beside the brunette, her hands rough in urgent haste, searching for broken bones or any serious injury. When she doesn’t see any blood, Piper gently lays Alex’s head into her lap, praying hard that she’ll somehow be alright.

Unaware that she is crying, remorse and tenderness almost make Piper curl into a ball right there on the ground as she studies Alex’s pale, beautiful face.

“Alex, wake up!” Piper cries.  Her shoulders shake with suppressed sobs as she pulls the brunette into her arms, cradling her face against her chest. “Please, wake up! You need to get up, I can’t carry you!” Piper cries hysterically.

With all of her might, Piper attempts to stand with the brunette, but instead, her feet lose traction, and she slides down again, losing her grip on Alex’s body. Scrambling to her feet, Piper tearfully goes to get her horse and bring it over to where Alex is lying. Piper closes her eyes for courage then swings the brunette’s arms onto her shoulders. While contemplating how to get the brunette on top of the horse, Alex suddenly groans and slowly her eyelids flutter open.

“Help me carry you on the horse.” When the brunette doesn’t respond, Piper begins crying her words out frantically. “If you don’t help me get home, I’ll get lost and die out here with you! Is that what you want? Alex, wake up!” she cries. “Don’t let me die!”

It’s a second before Piper realizes that  the brunette is reacting to her words and isn’t dead weight anymore. Using the feeble strength that she has, Alex pulls herself up onto Piper’s horse with her help.

The brunette’s movements are terrifyingly sluggish, and Piper flinches at seeing a deep gash of blood on Alex’s forehead.

Trying to think straight, Piper rides the horse, desperately hurrying to bring them home.

/

Miss Claudette and John rush up to help when they realize that Alex has been injured. They bring the brunette up to her room with Piper on their heels, not wanting to leave Alex’s side until she knows that she’s alright.

With Miss Claudette’s help, Alex’s wounds are cleaned and her body checked for other injury. Piper gives John a little information on what happened but seeing that the blonde is crying, John doesn’t ask her for any more explanation and just thanks her for bringing Alex home.

Piper can’t even think of sleeping tonight without personally knowing that Alex is alright, so she asks the old lady if she can watch over Alex, sitting at her bedside.

Tears of uncertainty and exhaustion slide from Piper’s eyes as the hours pass, and the brunette still has not woken up. An hour before midnight, Piper rests her head against the headboard, finally closing her eyes, not able to fight sleep anymore.

It is after 3am when Piper wakes up to a slight movement at her right, and she quickly turns her head to see Alex already awake and looking at her while she had been sleeping at her bedside.

“Are you alright?” Alex asks in a thready whisper. The blonde aches knowing that the brunette’s first thought is asking after her safety.

Piper finds herself staring into the most amazing stormy brown eyes she’s ever seen and feels a deep stirring of guilt, compassion, and immense relief. Piper never thought that she’d be catching herself saying this, but she is damn glad to see that Alex is awake and speaking to her.

“I.. I am. How do you feel? Piper worriedly asks.

“I’m okay,” The brunette tells her in a hoarse voice.

Alex tries to move, looking a little dazed. “Don’t move, you’ll hurt yourself,” Piper immediately tells the brunette, feeling bad seeing the small gash on the brunette’s forehead.

Alex stays still and closes her eyes, feeling a little dizzy from that abrupt movement.

Alex slowly opens her eyes, squints, and rakes them over the blonde’s face, trying to remember what has happened. Her eyes focus as the memory comes rushing back in, and she instantly remembers what Piper did.

As if reading the Alex’s thoughts, Piper feels herself drowning in shame and mortification, bows her head and waits for the brunette’s wrath. But when it doesn’t after a few minutes of silence, Piper looks up and sees that Alex is just looking at her.

“I’m waiting for you to apologize,” Alex says quietly.

Piper can’t believe what she’s just heard. The brunette is not mad at her. Alex is not exploding with anger like Piper has come to know, but instead she simply asks for her apology.

Piper can’t hold back her tears and begins to sob, cursing herself. She could have killed the brunette with that petty plan for revenge. Alex may have done terrible things to her, but Piper doesn’t think the brunette deserves to die, especially by her doing. It is a miracle that Alex was not more seriously injured.

Concerned, Alex gets up and reaches for Piper, pulling the blonde into her arms. Piper tries to pull away, but Alex gently tightens her grip, and lifts her hand to hold the blonde’s face, pressing her to her chest as if she were soothing a child.

The minutes pass in silence, and Piper tries to control her face when Alex lifts the blonde’s chin. Through her tears Piper whispers to the brunette, “I’m so sorry...Thank you for saving me.”

To be guilty and feel remorse and then be forgiven right away by Alex is nothing Piper would have ever expected. The blonde stares at the brunette, hardly able to believe what she’s heard and is feeling right now. Alex’s dark grey-green eyes are full of warmth, and she is smiling at Piper with gentle understanding even though she’s the one that’s been hurt in this terrible mess.

Suddenly Piper feels really close to the brunette, as if there is some special connection between them with what transpired earlier. The feeling stuns her, then surges through her, sweeping everything away in its path. Piper knows that she would not have been able to take it if something more serious had happened to the brunette, not when Alex had risked her life, knowing that she could be hurt or worse.

 “I’m terribly sorry about---“

“You’re forgiven.” Alex interrupts her softly while looking into Piper’s wide tearful eyes.

The way the blonde is looking at Alex fills her with poignant tenderness. There is no sign of fear, suspicion, revulsion or hatred in her lovely face. Alex wants to pull the blonde into her arms and bask in her warmth.

The blonde senses a change in their relationship, and for some incomprehensible reason, that is making Piper far more nervous than she’d been when Alex was furious at her.

/

After two days, Alex feels much better with the help of Miss Claudette and Piper who has been surprisingly very attentive to her while during her recuperation.

 Alex thinks of inviting some fire dancers to perform tonight, mulling over how everyone can use some entertainment after what’s transpired in the past few days. The brunette asks Piper to join her for dinner outside on the patio, thinking it would help refresh her and take her mind away from some of the things that might be worrying her as Alex remembers clearly how the blonde had wept on her bedside two days ago.

As the dancers move across the arena causing lights and shadows to shrink and grow, Alex secretly studies her guest. Piper has a tiny, whimsical smile on her face throughout the event and even asks her if the wound on her forehead is healing well and says that she’s glad that the brunette is alright.

The entire household is also outside, watching the fire dancers while the two of them are seated at a table for four with the food set on the side and a maid waiting to serve it to them.

Piper has never witnessed this kind of performance before and she can’t help but feel excited watching it.

Alex is surprised by Piper’s good mood. The blonde has been very nervous in her presence these past two days while she’s been recuperating. The brunette understands that Piper must be feeling guilty.

Alex had expected Piper to treat her aloofly throughout their meal, but to her confusion, ever since she walked out of the house and joined her outside, Piper has treated her with polite cordiality and even with a trace of shyness. After trying to find a reason for this unexplainable mood, Alex decides to try a more direct approach and bluntly remarks on it.

Startled, Piper tore her gaze from the performers and self-consciously looked at her plate before slowly raising her blue-grey eyes to the brunette.

“After taking time to reflect on everything, I decided that your offer was more than fair. It’s not your fault that some men are after me, and after you saved my life yesterday, I decided it would be ill-tempered of me if I behave badly to you during the next two months.”

Piper has thought of all the things that she must do in order to face this smartly. She must show the brunette that they can live together harmoniously and really become friends. After the selfless act and graceful compassion the brunette showed her yesterday, Piper thinks how Alex needs real friends and that there’s more to the brunette than what she has let her see. She believes that the brunette is not hopeless and is capable of showing goodness if she chooses to. The blonde has decided to make the most of her situation and face it bravely rather than always thinking of being sad and hopeless about it. Piper thinks that there is a way to make her situation better, and she must put her mind and heart to it.

Before Alex can recover from the shock and admiration that the blonde just showed, because of how courageous she is, Piper stretches out her hand. “Friends? For real this time,” she jokes, noting how many times they’ve done this already.

Alex takes her hand, her thumb lightly caressing her very soft palm. “Friends,” she agrees while not showing any emotion of her admiration for the blonde’s spirit of fair play.

But Alex feels anxious as Piper’s words ring inside her head, _“It’s not your fault that those men are after me..”_ but quickly pushes them away to the back of her mind, not wanting to dampen the night with her ruined mood or from worrying, seeing how Piper is happily smiling while watching the dance.

“It’s over.” Piper says when the music lulls to a stop and the fire dancers stand on the arena with their last pose. All of Alex’s men and the housekeepers clap with how satisfied they are with the performance, and after awhile, each of them slowly disappears as they return to the house and continue with their previous chores, leaving the women outside with one maid just sitting in the corner waiting to be asked for help.

The surroundings are quiet now, and all that can be heard is the sound of the spoon coming into contact with the plate while Alex continues eating.

Piper watches the brunette, just feeling happy that she’s well, seeming like nothing has even happened and decides to start a conversation.

“I think this place is beautiful,” Piper says while looking around the area.

“My family would be pleased with that. My dad designed it,” Alex remarks dryly as she glances at the house.

“Don’t you like it?” Piper wonders at Alex’s response.

Alex can’t tell the blonde that the animosity she’s hearing in the brunette’s voice is more for her father and not out of dislike for the house, so she quickly says. “Yeah, you can say it’s beautiful.”

“Yes and cozy too, but it can be intimidating. The house is so... silent.” Piper admits.

“I want you to make yourself comfortable and welcome in this house and feel free to walk around if you wish so,” Alex smiles at Piper beguilingly.

“Thanks,” Piper says hastily, feeling like she’s melting a little but whenever the brunette gives her one of those looks.

Sensing the blonde’s unease, Alex asks her, “Would you like some wine?” hoping that it would help in calming her nerves. The brunette has been very attentive the whole night, offering her food and desserts and even tried placing a serving of it on her plate.

“No, thank you.”

“Alex.” Alex reminds her.

Piper swallows, unable to force the brunette’s name out, her stomach churning with each look Alex gives her.

Alex is deliberately charming and disarming Piper that the blonde desperately thinks of food to take her mind off it.

“Can I have some more blueberry cake?” Piper asks. She carefully manages to avoid Alex’s eyes, but when she is done, her stomach growls with how much food she’s eaten.

Alex on the other hand is just amused having watched her eat that much food.

“Maybe some more chocolate cake?” Alex teases.

Under different circumstances, Piper would have laughed at that joke, but she feels so self-conscious with this very charming Alex in front of her. She realizes that the brunette is trying to put her at ease, but she can hardly be when it is precisely Alex’s fault that she feels so uneasy in the first place. The contradiction is a bit dizzying.

Piper can’t understand why the brunette has this effect on her. She imagines how good the brunette must be in seducing women and how she must have done this a hundred times with dozens of women. With those looks, the brunette can definitely have whoever she wants, and Piper wonders why Alex would choose her.

“May I ask you something?” Piper asks softly. Maybe now Alex can help her understand why she made that offer to her.

“Anything, within my power and within my reach,” Alex answers with an amused inclination of her head. She might have said that in jokingly, but Alex knows deep down inside that she would do anything, if only the blonde would ask her.

Piper smiles shyly at her and continues, “What made you do that offer to me?” Although there is no change in the brunette’s expression, Piper sees how the muscles in face tense, so she quickly explains, “I’m only trying to understand what you were thinking. We don’t get along that well. I resist your advances, and we’ve said and done horrible things to each other. Why me? You can have anyone that you want.”

“Why do you think I want you?”

“I don’t know,” Piper slumps her shoulders, lost for words. Alex smiles warmly at her and reaches out for the blonde’s hand across the table. When Piper doesn’t take her hand away and accepts the consolation that the brunette is offering, Alex grins because Piper is letting her hold her. “You can’t condemn me for wanting you...” Alex says as she strokes Piper’s hand. “..and I will do everything to show you how much,” she tells her without taking her eyes off of the blonde.

“What if I don’t want you to do that?” Piper asks unconvincingly.

“Can you honestly tell me that you haven’t felt any liking for me?” Alex persists gently. “Even against your will?”

The blonde thinks of how to answer that question for a second. There is no challenge in the brunette’s voice that Piper’s innate fairness makes her answer uncomfortably, “Sometimes,” and she looks away.

“But always against your will..” Alex teases.

Despite feeling very confused, Piper smiles. “Against my will and against my better judgement.”

Alex’s eyes smile warmly, and Piper feels like she’s burning again, so she quickly changes the subject.

“Alex, you promised to answer my question, but you still haven’t,” Piper stops herself abruptly, suddenly realizing that she had just called Alex by her name.

“I like it much better that way..” The brunette says seductively.

“You’re not answering my question! What made you make that offer? And don’t tell me that it’s because you feel something for---,” Piper blurts out impatiently.

“I don’t,” Alex cuts her off hurriedly.

Piper doesn’t understand why she feels sad with this answer. Maybe she would understand better if the brunette at least feels something for her, to explain why she’s acting this way, but learning now that she doesn’t just makes this arrangement crazier.

In helpless despair, Piper sinks down in her seat and looks out to the beautiful view of the beach in front of her.

Alex watches the blonde’s face become crestfallen and wants to think of a way to regain back the previous light mood. Standing from her seat, she turns, and Piper thinks the brunette is leaving, but instead she’s speaking to the maid and a moment later returns with a deck of cards in her hand and a box of chips with a world poker tour emblem inscribed in them.

Piper watches as Alex expertly shuffles them and arranges two stacks of chips in front of her. Excitement suddenly shoots through her as she realizes that the brunette is going to teach her how to play. She’s always been intrigued by the game and therefore makes no protest as she continues to watch Alex, fascinated as the cards spring to life in her hands. “Do you gamble a lot?” The blonde asks, reluctantly impressed.

“Intimately,” Alex answers. “Cut the cards,” the brunette then instructs.

Piper does so, and Alex takes the cards into her hands and asks, “Do you know how to play poker?”

“I know how it’s played, but I’ve never played it with anyone before,” Piper answers, trying to maintain her cool, but how can she when Alex looks so outrageously beautiful and relaxed that she looks so elegant.

Piper knows that the brunette is trying to cheer her up and distract her from her troubles, so she tries to relax herself too. “I just want to let you know that I’m not good in this game, let alone feel comfortable gambling in it.”

“You’ll be good at it, I’m sure,” Alex says.

Piper opens her mouth to argue, but Alex nods at the cards. “Cut the cards.”

Piper finds out after two hours of play that gambling can make one feel deliciously wicked and dissolute. Even if she’s still not that good at the game, she has played relatively well and has only lost a little. She senses that Alex is proud at how quickly she’s learned it. The things that other people might judge her for liking are the very things that Alex admires her for. She realizes this had been inside her already, a penchant for danger, for something exciting to happen, for other things that the brunette is awakening inside her, like gambling right now and, in a way, even the bet that they made. People who know her would be shocked at her if they knew what she’s doing. She knows that she has to be very careful to stay well within the bounds of propriety with all her actions, but with Alex right now, she feels that she can do anything.

The blonde is so lost in her thoughts when Alex touches her chin and tips it towards her. “ _Please_ join me in every meal from now on.” The brunette stares at her deeply with her stormy green eyes that Piper can’t answer at once and eventually just gives Alex a simple nod.

“You can rest now, Piper. Thank you for a very nice evening.” Then Alex excuses herself to retire for the night.

/

The next morning both women dine together, and to Piper’s discomfit, Alex continues to be her very attentive and charming self, even asking if Piper needs to talk to her family so that she can arrange it through John. Afterwards, the brunette asks her if she would join her for a game of chess outside the veranda. Piper is able to relax because the brunette is so easily enjoying the game with her, even throwing jokes here and there that after the third game they have forgotten that it’s almost lunch time already. Alex informs Piper that she won’t be at the island for a week because she needs to take care of some things in the city. The brunette teases her that she can relax for a few days because she won’t be around which Piper immediately confirms but feels confused as to why she feels a little disappointed by Alex’s announcement. Piper reasons to herself that maybe she’s just bored, and Alex has been always there to keep her on her toes.

“Feel free to do what you want, and if you want anything else just ask John,” Alex reminds her with a gentle smile.

After three days, Piper is sighing in her room, trying to think of what to do. She explores the property and sometimes down visits the beach when she feels bored. John is also very helpful, and she is able to talk to her family and assure them that everything is fine with her. She has also made friends with the maids, chatting with them whenever she hangs out in the kitchen. Piper desperately wants to help with the cooking, but Miss Claudette shoos her away, so instead of persisting, she sits on the corner to avoid getting in the way and causing trouble and in this time gets to know some of them. She has learned that one of women helping in the kitchen just recently gave birth and has three more children, and the other girl is living alone with her ailing father. Piper has an idea the next day from after feeling so useless. Desperately wanting to do something, she asks John if she can accompany one of the maids on her way home to meet her family and if she can bring the kids something. John is having second thoughts if he would permit her, knowing that someone could possibly be out there watching them. But Piper pleads, reasoning that the maid’s house is just at the back of the property and that she would be back in no time. In the end, John can’t say no and agrees, but only if she gets back before it gets dark.

That night Piper goes to sleep feeling satisfied and happy with her day, having gotten the opportunity to meet the maid’s family and her adorable kids and bring them some food that they ate for supper. When it was time for her to leave, the kids were hanging onto her legs because they didn’t want her to, but they let her go when she promises them that she will be back again soon.

On the sixth day, Piper wanders towards the garden down near the seashore. She wants to cool her mind from feeling irritated because she realizes that she kind of misses the brunette’s presence. She bends and plucks a lovely flower and raises it to her nose, inhaling it, then absentmindedly begins plucking each of the petals one by one, her thoughts in slow turmoil.

“Are you displeased with something because you look like you’re gonna murder those beautiful flowers,” a deep, sultry voice says behind her.

Piper whirls in surprise, feeling surprisingly relieved from the wondering thoughts she’s been having the last few days regarding the brunette’s whereabouts.

“You’re here!” Piper exclaims but then quickly gathers herself not wanting to appear like she has been missing the woman in front of her.

Alex glances at her amusedly and at the petals that are strewn all over the ground but also feeling slightly guilty for having left Piper for days without company. “Poor flowers...”

Piper follows the brunette’s gaze, flushed with embarrassment and a mixture of frustration. “They’re beautiful..” the blonde says.

“But you were bored at looking at them with petals on, is that it?” Alex smiles.

She knows the brunette is teasing her, but she had to ask at once, wondering why the brunette is back already. “You’re a day early. Were you able to do what you had to do?” Piper asks, trying to change the subject that they were having on flowers and wanting to know already how the brunette is. She runs a shaky hand through her shining blonde hair, which makes Alex’s gaze lift. Alex watches the unconscious grace of the blonde’s gesture, studying her intently after having been deprived of her presence for six days.

Sunlight glints on the blonde’s hair and turns her gray blue eyes into luminous blue. The white dress that she’s wearing flatters her creamy complexion and the blush tinting her cheeks.

“Would you please stop looking at me like that?” Piper asks, already having felt anxious for days and even moreso now that the brunette is right here. She can’t seem to take all her presence at once especially with Alex looking at her like she’s dissecting her every feature and possibly find flaws in them.

“Like what?” Alex asks absently, noticing the blonde’s cheekbones and how soft her lips look. As she gazes at that delicate face, it’s sinking into her how much she has really missed the blonde, admitting that that’s why she cut her trip a day early so she could get back on the island.

Unable to choke out a word, Piper looks away and shrugs.

Unable to restrain herself anymore, Alex holds Piper’s face and cups her cheek, turning the blonde to look at her.

“Look at me,” Alex said in a low, velvety voice that sends tingles of apprehensive excitement down Piper’s spine.

Piper drags her eyes to the brunette’s alluring face. Although Piper senses what she’s about to do, her fogged mind makes her ask, “What are you thinking?”

Alex fingers move sensuously across her cheek, and she smiles, a slow lazy smile that makes Piper’s heart leap into her throat. “I’m thinking about kissing you.”

“I don’t think you should,” The blonde hears herself saying, but her body is doing the opposite, feeling like she’s floating, drugged by the brunette’s scent and feeling of being too close to her.

Ignoring the blonde’s protest, Alex slowly tilts Piper’s face up and lowers her head to lightly meet with the blonde’s lips. Once their lips touch it is over. Alex encircles her arms around Piper, drawing her so close to her that her breasts crush against her chest. She feels all her restraints crumbling, and all that’s left is the hunger that both women obviously feel for each other.

Alex slowly stops the kiss but does not let go of the blonde and stares at Piper’s face. Gazing into those luminous eyes of hers, a tenderness begins to unfold within the brunette, a sensation that feels so foreign to her that she feels scared for a moment, but all she can think about is the blonde that she’s holding carefully in her arms right now.

“I don’t think you have an idea of your effect on me?” Alex murmurs softly.

The words the brunette speaks combined with her touch against her cheek and the deep compelling sound of her voice has the seductive impact that Piper dreaded would impact her. She feels like she’s floating and melting deep inside and can’t pull her gaze from the brunette’s hypnotic dark eyes, and she finds that doesn’t want to try. Without realizing what she’s doing, Piper raises her shaking fingertips to the brunette’s jaw and touches her cheeks as Alex is touching hers. “I think that you are beautiful,” Piper whispers achingly.

At this, Alex takes Piper’s lips once again. Her mouth slants over them with fierce tenderness, while her hand curves around the nape of Piper’s neck, her fingers stroking the blonde’s sensitive skin, and her other arm encircles her waist, moving Piper more tightly to her. Lost in an ocean of pure sensation, Piper slides her hands around Alex’s neck, clinging to her for support, unconsciously molding her body to the brunette’s. The moment Piper does that, the seducer becomes the seduced. Desire explodes inside Alex’s body, and the brunette automatically deepens the kiss, her mouth moving with hungry, persuasive insistence. Alex kisses Piper long and lingering then moves her tongue to the blonde’s trembling lips, coaxing them to part and when they slowly do, she slides her tongue inside, exploring Piper’s mouth. The brunette’s hand shifts from Piper’s back to her midriff and slides upward toward her breasts. Alex can’t help but moan with the desire that’s coursing inside her right now, knowing that the blonde is reciprocating, but the sound somehow penetrates Piper’s aroused senses, dragging the blonde back to reality.

Piper drops her hands and raises her head, staring up into Alex’s intoxicating face, unable to believe the passion the brunette has evoked in her. Dizzy with desire and something else she can’t quite explain, Piper feels the heavy thudding of the brunette’s heart. As she gazes into the firm sensual mouth that has gently and then fiercely explores hers, she raises her eyes to the smouldering dark blue green ones.

And she knew.

_To be continued..._


	10. Chapter 10

_Continuation.._

_And she knew..._

Something incredible is happening.

This callous, impatient, short-tempered, sophisticated, dark and beautiful woman was given to her by fate. The brunette was hers to.. to do what? Piper desperately thought. She didn’t know, but she was feeling it. Right here in this garden.

Piper wasn’t foolish enough to believe that she knew what to do with Alex, but she was certain of two things: she wanted to make the brunette happy, to be an instrument, somehow and some way, she was going to discover the means to do it.

Swallowing the painful memories of Alex’s previous behaviour, Piper knowingly accepted deep within what fate was offering her.

/

After the kiss in the garden, Alex excused herself to change her clothes because she had been travelling all day and asked Piper to meet her in the dining area that night. The blonde knew that the maids were preparing something for dinner and offered to see how things were progressing in the kitchen. Both women wanted time to recollect themselves after the intense, precious moment they’d just shared.

An hour later, Alex stepped inside the hall and saw Piper, and the brunette gestured to the counter near the kitchen.

“I thought we can eat here since it’s just the two of us,” the brunette said in a soft caressing voice. “It’s cozier.”

Piper’s mouth went dry with Alex’s tone, and she tried to quickly change the subject.

“Are you hungry?” Piper asked. She felt somewhat proud that she’d helped a little bit in preparing the meal while waiting for Alex.

Alex nodded slowly. “Starved.” Piper’s hand stilled at the husky intimacy she thought she’d heard in the brunette’s voice. She forced herself to think that the brunette had not purposely chosen that word and consequently tried to look innocent when she next addressed Alex. “Would you like something? I kinda familiarized myself with the kitchen in the week that you were gone.”

“What are you offering?” Alex answered, playing verbal chess with her with seeming ease though Piper wondered back and forth whether all the double meanings in their exchange existed only in her head. She couldn’t help but overthink. The brunette made her so nervous whenever she used that seductive voice of hers. But still, Piper is never sure when Alex was being innocently sincere or whether she was expertly playing “the game.”

“I was offering food. Uhmm for dinner. Of course,” Piper blurted out and immediately felt foolish and awkward.

“Of course,” Alex agreed seriously, but her eyes glinted with amusement.

“Steak, to be specific.”

“It’s very important to be specific.”

Piper thought there some remnants of the kiss they’d shared earlier still remained. Maybe that explained why their conversation now seems so strangely charged. Piper decided to make a strategic retreat and began backing away toward the kitchen to bring out the food.

She needed to keep herself busy and not drive herself crazy with overthinking. In the kitchen she told one of the maids that she could finish the preparations on her own.

Miss Claudette had not been around since yesterday because the old lady had to visit a family member who’d gotten sick.

_Cozier._

The word swirled inside Piper’s brain. She knew perfectly well that by Alex’s definition “cozier” meant “more conducive to intimacy”. She knew it just as clearly as she knew that the situation between them had altered irreversibly the moment Alex saved her from that stallion that day. And Alex knew it too. Piper clearly saw the evidence. There was a new softness in the brunette’s eyes when she looked at her and a tenderness in her voice, and they were both utterly shattering to Piper’s own self-control. Piper shook her head at her foolish attempts in reasoning to herself. There was nothing left of her self-control, no more arguments that mattered, nowhere she could go to hide the truth.

The truth was she wanted Alex, and the brunette wanted her. They _both_ knew it.

She placed the food on a silver tray and went out to find Alex sitting on one of the sofas near the counter at the side of the dining area, looking so relaxed and sexy as she watched Piper coming her way.

 _How come she isn’t nervous?_ Piper wondered. _Of course she isn’t. She’s undoubtedly done this to hundreds of women, women who were much prettier than me_.

With that last thought, Piper stifled the urge to go back to the kitchen to find something to arrange just to delay the whole thing.

Alex watched Piper return to the counter and observed how graceful and uncertain the blonde’s movements were while she placed their meal on the table. The light from the chandeliers gleamed on her blonde hair as it spilled forward over her shoulders and glowed on her soft skin as she arranged the plates and cutlery on the place mat. Alex noticed that Piper had beautiful hands. Alex had a poignant memory of those hands clasping her face when she’d been semi-conscious, Piper rocking her in her arms and pleading her to get up the day she’d saved her from the stallion. Alex remembered those hands smoothing the blankets over her during those two days that she’d been recuperating as well as the frantic worry in the Piper’s voice when she’d first awoken and saw the blonde was sleeping beside her bed.

As she watched Piper now, she realized how carefully the blonde was avoiding her eyes. Alex knew Piper as someone who’d opposed, outwitted, defied and challenged her from the very beginning, and yet for all her dauntless courage and spunk, Alex could see how amazingly shy the blonde was being right now, now that the hostilities between them have disappeared.

“I’ll get some wine,” Alex said, and before Piper could decline she got up and returned with a bottle and two wine glasses.

Alex saw Piper reaching out for the glass but changed her mind.

“I didn’t poison it,” Alex remarked.

“I didn’t think you did,” Piper said with a self-conscious laugh. Alex again noticed how nervous Piper seemed to be.

They both slowly sensed the possibility of something happening between the two of them tonight, something that had started with their kiss and was now further developing with this intimate dinner that they’re sharing.

 _The blonde probably thinks that Alex is going to jump on her the moment they’re done with their meal_ , Alex thought. If anyone should be worried it should be her, concerned with her tendency to lose control when it comes to the blonde.

Alex decided to reassure and put Piper at ease by engaging her in some pleasant and casual conversation.  She was about to try to get Piper to talk when she realized the blonde was giving her an odd, curious look. “What?” Alex asked.

“I was wondering where you had gone to that whole week,” Piper answered.

Alex couldn’t tell Piper that she was now sure that Mendez had indeed left his regular post and had finally set out to look for them. She had to travel to meet with her insider who was still working for the drug organization. What Alex had done had been a huge risk, making herself visible like that, but she’d needed to gather essential information, and she didn’t trust anyone save for John to be left at the island to look out for Piper. If Mendez was already close to finding where they are, Alex didn’t know, but that’s what she and John were trying to find out now. They couldn’t find any traces from the hidden cameras set up on the island, but they hadn’t installed many of them around the property as Alex preferred to just rely on John’s men hidden about the area, not wanting to feel like she was being watched 24/7. Alex trusted John to handle his men and behave accordingly to her needs.

Alex didn’t want to worry the blonde and simply said, “I went to shop for some things.”

“Mhhm. Like what?” Finished with her stew, Piper leaned back and fixed Alex with a sceptical look that made it clear that Piper wanted the truth.

“Things needed for the house. Supplies.” And she wasn’t lying. She had indeed acquired some things that Miss Claudette had asked her to buy. “And food.” Alex smiled. “I thought we’d run out because I heard you’d been feeding people in the area.”

“Do you mind? I went to meet one of the maid’s family,” Piper asked with a slightly worried note.

“I don’t. It’s totally fine,” Alex answered her tenderly. She’d been assured by John that Piper had returned before nightfall.

“I left you a piece of bread in the pantry though if that’s what you’re concerned about,” Piper joked with a charming smile.

Alex couldn’t help it and burst out laughing. She needed this relaxed atmosphere with her, refreshed with just Piper’s presence and glad that she was now spending time with the blonde.

“Thank you,” Alex whispered.

“For what?”

Alex held Piper’s gaze. “For making me smile. For spending time with me. For helping me when I was hit by the horse. For being brave. And for helping with this wonderful meal.” Alex tipped up Piper under the chin to lighten the mood and saw that the glint in the blonde’s eyes wasn’t embarrassment.

Piper stood up to start putting the things away to escape the burning look the brunette was giving, her but Alex placed a hand on her shoulder. “Stay here and enjoy your wine. I’ll do it.”

Too tense to sit still and waiting to see what would happen next, Piper got up and walked over to the windows. Leaning her shoulder against the pane, she gazed out at the captivating view outside the house gleaming under the moonlight.

Alex turned the lights dim, sending the room into a mellow glow. “You’ll be able to see outside better this way,” the brunette explained when Piper threw a questioning look over her shoulders. Piper saw Alex move towards the stereo in the corner of the room, and she started hearing slow music filling the room. Piper immediately felt her throat drying up, and she drank more of her wine before looking back out to the view again.

When Alex came up behind the blonde at the windows, she saw Piper’s shoulders stiffen, and the blonde’s nervous reaction to her began to genuinely unnerve her. Rather than ignoring it and wielding Piper into the kiss she’d been wanting to have again, Alex shoved her hands inside her pockets and tried to catch Piper’s attention. When she did, Alex tipped her head to the stereo and asked with a teasing formality, “Can I ask you for a dance?”

Piper turned. Her eyes looked nervous, but she was smiling. Alex’s spirit soared crazily simply because the blonde looked pleased. Alex kept her hands deep inside her pockets to herself keep from touching her, but grinned. “I remember the last person I asked for a dance was a teacher. She turned me down though.”

“Really why?” Piper asked, surprised but glad that Alex was sharing something from her past.

“I was too short for her.”

Piper smiled because Alex was very tall for a woman and thought that she must be joking or else the other woman would have been a giant.

“Were you really shorter than her?”

Alex nodded. “By about two feet. But I didn’t see that as an obstacle at that time because I had a wild crush on her.”

Piper caught on then, and her smile faded a little, remembering the sweet little girl that Miss Claudette had told her about. “How old were you?”

“Eight.”

Alex saw how Piper looked at her, like the blonde had known the slight had hurt her back then.

“I wouldn’t have turned you down.”

The catch in Piper’s voice and the soft look in her eyes almost ruined every wall that Alex had built deep inside. Mesmerized by the feelings unfolding inside her, Alex pulled her hands out of her pockets and held her hand out to her. Her gaze locked onto the blonde, silently asking for her permission. For her consent. For Piper, this revelation and humble act, although small, filled her heart with so much warmth.

Piper laid her hand in Alex’s, and Alex slid her arm around Piper’s waist, drawing the blonde closer to her while Labrinth’s _Beneath You’re Beautiful_ played in the background.

A jolt shook Alex when she felt Piper’s legs and thighs come into intimate contact with her own as the blonde matched her steps, and her heart began to beat much too fast. They weren’t even kissing yet, and desire was already pounding through every nerve ending in her body. Not wanting to rush things and make Piper more nervous, especially now that the blonde was acting comfortable, dancing in her arms, Alex thought of a conversation that would further her ultimate goal without immediately stimulating her more than she already was. Linking her fingers with Piper’s, Alex brought the blonde’s hand against her chest and asked. “How did you manage to pull me up on top of the horse? I’m glad you didn’t twist an arm. I probably weigh more than a cow,” Alex tried to joke.

Still feeling guilty over that, Piper said, “That’s not funny. What you did was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do for me...”

It wasn’t her words that melted Alex. It was the way Piper was looking at her, the admiration in her eyes and the awed wonder in her voice. Growing up all these years, hearing what her father thought of her and how he had made her believe that she was nothing and would never be enough, it was heady merely to be looked at with admiration. Yes, she had people close to her like Miss Claudette and John, but they were different. She knew they cared for her, but they also felt pity for her. So now, to have Piper look at her as if she were brave and fine and decent was like a gift being given to her more precious than anything she had ever received. Alex wanted to crush the blonde in her arms, to lose herself in her sweetness. The brunette wanted to be the best lover the blonde has ever known.

Alex was bursting to show Piper the tenderness that she was feeling, wanting to make her feel good because this was the only way the brunette knew how.

Alex slid her hand slowly from the blonde’s arms to take Piper’s hand and gently guided her out of the dining room.

Piper knew they were heading to the brunette’s bedroom. _This is really happening now..._ If she didn’t want this to happen, this was the time to put a stop to it, but everything in her body didn’t want it to.

Alex stopped at her doorstep and turned to look into Piper’s eyes, something in those blue orbs making her stop and ask. “Are you afraid?”

Unable to force out a word, Piper gazed up at the tall, daunting, seductive woman and nodded.

“I won’t force myself on you, and if you don’t want to do this. Just tell me.” When the blonde didn’t answer, Alex tried to make her laugh. “I’m a little afraid too.”

“You ... You are? Why?”

“I’m afraid I’ll lose my control with how much I want you, and I won’t pleasure you as much and as well as I want to.” The brunette said with a light voice, reassuring as she opened the door to her bedroom and waited for Piper to step inside of her own accord.

When Piper did, Alex smiled and earned a shy smile back from the blonde.

“I like it when you smile, do you know that?” Alex asked, trying to ease the blonde’s shyness as she guided Piper closer to the bed.

Piper looked up into the brunette’s mesmerizing eyes as Alex lowered her slowly onto the bed. The brunette’s hand slowly slid up her midriff, encompassing her breast while Alex slowly bent her head and took her mouth in an endless, drugging kiss that made Piper’s senses reel.

Alex kissed her again and again, her hands shifting, tormenting, seducing until Piper lost all control. Moaning helplessly, she turned into Alex and kissed her back with all the suppressed longing that she’d been holding back. Piper’s parted lips crushed Alex’s and her tongue darted into the brunette’s mouth as fingers tangled into Alex’s thick hair, holding her to keep the brunette’s mouth against hers. As the blonde surrendered, she gained the victory, for this time it was Alex who groaned and lost herself in the kiss.

Wrapping her arms around Piper, Alex rolled onto her back, taking the blonde with her legs, tangling with Piper’s, her body slowly grinding, telling the blonde how much she wants her.

Alex willed herself to slow down, but her body, starved for the blonde, would not listen to the commands, especially not when Piper was kissing her like this, the girl’s tongue sliding in and out of the contours of her mouth. Shuddering with the need that refused to be denied any longer, Alex rolled Piper onto her back and began undressing her almost hurriedly, and when all clothing was gone, Alex’s hand slid down between the blonde’s thighs to the warm wetness that assured her that Piper was ready for her.

“I’m sorry,” Alex whispered hoarsely. “I... can’t... wait.” The brunette’s breath caught as she eased her finger slowly into the blonde, careful not to hurt her, but Alex stopped in a painful surprise when she saw Piper turn her face away from her and watched as two bright tears slid down from her eyes.

“Piper?” Alex whispered, her arms and shoulders taut with the effort she was trying to exert to control her need to continue moving deep inside her, going crazy with how wet the blonde is. Bracing herself on one forearm, she took the blonde’s chin and turned Piper’s face to her. “Open your eyes and look at me,” Alex pleaded quietly.

Piper’s eyes were full of tears as Alex stared into her eyes.

“Am I hurting you? I’m sorry.. I’m so sorry,” Alex asked in disbelief, cradling the blonde’s face in her hands, feeling so sorry for her past actions. Wanting nothing but to bring her happiness. To prove herself to Piper. But she has broken her, that’s why she can’t stomach what she’s doing to her now, this must be why she’s crying like this.

_If only she can repair what she has done. She would, in a heartbeat..._

Piper swallowed and shook her head, fighting down the urge to plead with the brunette to take her, to beg her to make love to her, to let Piper make her happy. So many realizations were hitting the blonde right now, that’s why she was crying. In a few short minutes, the brunette’s lovemaking had broken down every barrier Piper had erected against her.

“Piper, what is it?” Alex asked, leaning down and kissing the tear from the blonde’s cheek. Seeing her like this is breaking Alex’s heart. “Don’t you want me?”

It was the humble innocence in the brunette’s voice, combined with the tenderness, that was Piper’s undoing. “Yes,” she whispered, gazing up into Alex’s eyes and seeing the passion that the brunette was fighting to restrain.

“Then why are you crying?” Alex whispered.

“Because,” Piper confessed in a little voice. “I don’t want to want you.”

A sound that was part groan, part laughter from feeling so tender escaped Alex, and she once again, slowly, placed her hand in the middle of the blonde’s legs, to reacquaint her fingers with her wetness, thrusting her finger fully into her, slowly at first, pulling back and plunging deeper and faster. Piper’s hips arched spasmodically beneath her, and Alex almost came right then and there. “I want you,” Alex groaned, withdrawing her fingers and plunging again, deeper and deeper with each plunge. Her heart swelled with joy as she felt Piper wrap her arms around her shoulders and surrender completely to her stormy desire. “God, you feel so good,” Alex gasped, her thumb circling the blonde’s swollen clit, giving Piper more pleasure she could endure.

Piper squeezed Alex arms as her hips lifted, nearing climax. Alex felt Piper’s walls clenching around her finger, and she placed another inside her, moving in and out, curling to reach for that spot as she continued to rub her clit. Alex wanted to bring the blonde to that edge, watch her face as she started falling into that oblivion of ecstasy and be completely satisfied, knowing that it was all her doing.

“Let go, I’ll be here to catch you,” Alex whispered into Piper’s ears as she felt the blonde’s warm breath on the side of her cheek.

Two more strokes and Piper orgasmed with a force tearing within her, Alex’s name in an agonized moan.

When the brunette moved onto her side, she wrapped her arms around Piper and cradled the blonde against her while she waited for Piper’s breathing to even out. Staring into the ceiling, Alex felt sanity finally return, and two realizations came to her. First was that she had actually asked Piper if she wanted her, like a small girl pleading for favors. Her experience as a child embedded in her the need to never again beg for anything. The last time she begged was with her dad, and it broke her heart and soul.

Never in her entire life had she asked a woman to want her. Her pride rebelled at her performance in bed tonight and her general lack of control. She had planned to pleasure her all night and make Piper feel good. Second, the blonde called out her name when she reached that peak.

Piper stirred and lifted her head, tilting it back on the pillow so that she could see Alex’s face. Piper saw the brunette’s jaw tighten and sensed that there must be something that was displeasing her, so she asked in dismay. “You’re angry?”

Alex tipped her chin down and smiled without humor. “At myself, not you.”

“Why?” Piper asked, lovely and naked in her arms.

“Because I...” Alex shook her head and closed her mouth. _Because I want you so much. Because I lost control tonight. Because the simple touch of your hands on me makes me insane with want. Because you affect me so much. You can make me angrier than anyone alive. You can make me laugh. Because where you are concerned, I’m vulnerable and soft..._

Her father’s voice shouted inside Alex’s head: _You’re so soft. You’re no use to me cause you’re a girl! You can’t be tough. You’re too dependent on so many people. You should learn to trust no one but yourself!_

Alex pushed the memories out of her head, reminding herself that it had taken her a long time to be where she is right now and not be affected with what happened before.

Piper’s soft, timid words drew Alex from her thoughts. “May I go to my room right now? I can see that I’ve somehow displeased you..”

Alex heart wrenched at the thought of Piper believing that. “On the contrary,” she said, smiling to hide what she was really thinking, “You do please me... too much.”

Piper looked sceptically at her with the last two words that Alex chuckled and teased her. “In bed you please me,” she clarified. “Out of it you infuriate and challenge me. I think the only solution,” Alex huskily added as she felt a hot wetness in between her legs as desire surged back again, “is to keep you in bed with me.” Bending her head, she took Piper’s sweet lips in a deep kiss.

And this time, when Alex made love to Piper, she lingered over her for hours, holding herself back while she guided the blonde to peak after peak of trembling pleasure.

It was already dawn when she made love to Piper for the last time and finally fell into deep slumber herself.

Cautiously lifting the brunette’s imprisoning arm from around her waist, Piper inched forward and slid out from beneath the sheets. Her body felt weak, limp, and deliciously weary as she tiptoed silently from the bed to collect her clothes from the floor.

Sliding her arms into the sleeves, she looked at the brunette’s sleeping on the bed, her dark hair sprawled out onto the gleaming whiteness of the pillow and sleep softening her features. Piper’s gaze move over the brunette, revelling in the freedom to look at her at her heart’s content. Piper thought, the woman lying naked on the bed right now is splendid, truly splendid. The most beautiful woman she has ever seen even. Piper looked at Alex one more time and leaned down to carefully draw up the sheet up over the brunette’s shoulder, but she did not leave.

While looking down on Alex, Piper thought about the way the brunette made love to her tonight. A fresh surge of delight washed over her as she recalled the brunette’s helpless apology when she lost control “ _I’m sorry, I can’t wait.”_ Piper felt good knowing that she was able to make Alex feel good as much as her body was also burning for the brunette. Yes, she had seen Alex lose control before, but from anger and not from pure pleasure like she did tonight, truly enjoying all she can do to Piper’s body.

Alex made love to her repeatedly throughout the night, touching and kissing her with the skill of an expert violinist playing his violin.

Piper felt drugged with how satisfied she was physically but at the same time, Piper warned herself not to forget to be cautious and wise with this no matter how dangerously fascinated she was with this vulnerable side of her enigmatic hostess, she realized this and turned away, returning to her own room as she softly closed the door behind her.

/

Piper woke up later that morning. She took time to get ready and got impatient when she couldn’t decide what to wear, too eager to see how Alex was this morning. She stepped out of her villa and walked to the house when she saw the brunette outside on the patio, sitting at the table while talking to John. The brunette glanced up as she passed and their eyes met. Alex nodded a brief greeting at her, but there was something in the brunette’s expression that told Piper that she was not in a good mood.

Confused by this unexpected change of attitude, Piper politely returned her nod and continued past them to the kitchen, where she ate in thoughtful, somewhat dismal silence, wishing that Miss Claudette should be there.

Thinking that her hostess must be busy, Piper decided to keep herself busy with helping in the kitchen, which she realized she enjoyed. She also planned to make another visit to the maid’s family. After lunch she began to read a book Miss Claudette had left her in case she became bored, but shortly afterwards, feeling restless, Piper decided to go down to the stables and see the horses.

There was no one there when she arrived. She thought that it couldn’t hurt if she rode one of the horses just around the property since the house felt so empty.

It was late in the afternoon when Piper finally returned, discovering how vast the brunette’s estate truly was. She had also found a stream and thought how nice it would be to go back there to cool off or just to enjoy nature. Exhilarated from the freedom of riding, she didn’t notice at once the stable man rushing at her. She was surprised when he hurriedly took the reins from her, his face was breathless but still managing a smile.

“Miss Alex has been waiting for you for more than an hour, going back and forth from the house to here, and very impatient to see you...”

Pleased with that information, Piper smiled at the sight of Alex as the brunette strode from the side of the house going to the stables, but Piper’s smile abruptly faded when she saw that the brunette’s face was very dark and angry.

“Don’t ever leave the house without telling someone exactly where you’re going and exactly when you expect to return!” Alex snapped when Piper dismounted from the horse. “And from now on you’re not allowed to leave the house without anyone accompanying you!”

Piper thought that the brunette’s anger was completely unreasonable and her attitude so different from her compelling tenderness last night that for a moment Piper just stared at her in astonishment, then she felt her own temper starting to boil.

“Are you finished?” Piper snapped, intending to leave Alex there and go back to the house.

“No,” Alex bit out, looking angrier than ever. “There’s one more thing... Don’t ever crawl out of my bed in the middle of the night when I’m asleep again, like you’re a prostitute returning to you post!”

“How dare you!” Piper exploded, so enraged she swung her hand to slap Alex before she realized what she was doing. Alex caught her wrist, her hand clamping onto Piper’s slender wrist so tightly that she felt like her bones were going to break. The brunette’s eyes glowed like shards of ice, and for a moment Piper thought Alex was going to strike her. Then without warning, Alex dropped her hand, turned on her heels and strode off toward the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please let me know what you think with this previous chapter :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me what you think about this chapter. Enjoy!

When Piper entered the house she was greeted by the sight of Miss Claudette coming towards her. She wanted to feel happy seeing the old lady back but after what had just happened, she didn’t know if anything could lift up her spirits. The old lady must have seen her mistress before finding Piper because she immediately started trying to reassure the blonde. “Miss Alex must be having a bad day… I have not seen her in a temper like that in such a long time.” Despite Miss Claudette’s reassuring tone, her kindly old face was twisted with bewildered concern as she stared at the corridor leading to the brunette’s room.

 In silence, Piper turned her head and stared at her old confidant, her eyes alive with anger and painful confusion as the old lady continued. “I placed her on her first pony, and I’ve known her since she was a little girl, and there is no one braver, finer...”

 “Please!” Piper burst out, unable to endure another of the glowing stories she used to enjoy so much. “No more lies! You can’t make her fine and dashing to me when she’s alive, and I can see perfectly well that she’s.... she’s an evil-tempered, heartless monster!”

 “No, Piper, she’s not. I know her just as I knew her father and her mother---“

 “I’m sure her father was a monster too!” Piper blurted, too hurt and angry to mind what she is saying. “I’ve no doubt they’re exactly alike!”

 “No, Piper! No. You’re wrong. More wrong than anybody’s ever been if you think a thing like that!”

 Stunned by the intensity of that denial, Piper brought her temper under control and managed a weak, bitter smile and shrug. “My grandfather always said that if you want to know what a person will become, look at their parents.”

 “Well, he’s wrong on Miss Alex’s case.”

 Piper sighed deeply and realized that Miss Claudette must be a veritable source of information on Alex. If only she could only get the old lady to tell her everything about the brunette.

 “Since I’m not allowed to go anywhere, would you care to walk with me to the garden?”

 The old lady nodded, and they both walked the path leading to the garden near the shores and stood in front to study the beautiful buds that are newly blossoming.

 Appearing to have just a mild interest, Piper casually inquired, “Speaking of Alex’s father, what was he like?”

 Miss Claudette shifted uneasily from one foot to another. “He never noticed anybody beneath him, nor cared for anybody but himself.”

 “What do you mean?”

 “I have to get to work,” Miss Claudette said miserably. “Let’s just continue talking next time, okay? I have to finish preparing dinner.”

 Seeing that it would be useless to press the old lady further as she was already on her heels going back up to the house, Piper let Miss Claudette go. Still, she couldn’t banish the feeling of curiosity over the source.

Wanting to pass the time, Piper decided an hour later to call on Maria, one of the maids, to show her where she could do her laundry. Maria insisted on doing it for the blonde, but Piper seriously needed to do something in this house. Maria was a devoted servant to Alex as was her family before her to Alex’s family. Piper learned that her ailing father was someone who had worked closely with Alex’s father before. But the moment Piper asked about her hostess’ parents, Maria, like Miss Claudette, also suddenly recalled that she had an urgent work to do.

 

/

 

Dressed in a peach sundress, with her hair on a ponytail, Piper left her room at 8, which was usually the time they took their dinner, and walked slowly going to the dining area. She was to face Alex for the first time since their angry confrontation at the stable and wasn’t at all certain about how their conversation was going to transpire.

 John stepped forward when she was about to enter the dining room. Confused, Piper looked at him in confusion.

 “Alex is outside the veranda taking a glass of champagne before supper, and she asks if you will join her there.”

 Alex glanced up when Piper entered the veranda and walked over to the table where she poured a glass for the blonde. Piper watched the brunette’s skilful movements and gazed at the brunette’s tall, lithe frame while she tried to ignore how incredibly gorgeous Alex looked in a black slacks and sleeveless silk blouse. Wordlessly, the brunette held the glass of wine toward her.

 Uncertain of her mood, Piper walked forward and took the glass from Alex’s outstretched hand.

 Her first words made Piper long to pour the wine over the brunette’s head. “In the future, please be at the dining room before eight, Piper.”

 Fire ignited in Piper’s eyes, but she managed to keep her voice level. “You have already told me where I may sleep, where I may go, and when I must eat. Are you also planning to tell me when I can breathe?”

 Alex’s brows snapped together, then she leaned her head back and sighed heavily. “Piper,” she said, sounding both apologetic and exasperated, “I meant to begin by apologizing for the way I treated you at the stable today. You returned late, and I was worried about you. I didn’t intend to start our evening off now by reprimanding you or suffocating you with more rules. I’m not an ogre—“ Alex broke off as John came in and told Alex about a recent visitor to the island. Slightly pacified by Alex’s apology, Piper sat on one of the chairs as she listened.

 John informed Alex that Larry had stopped at the dock earlier and left a message to Alex, asking if he could visit sometime and maybe take the ladies again for more sight-seeing.

 Alex’s eyes suddenly turned flinty and her jaw clenched so tight that the bones of her face stood out as she continued listening to John’s report.

 “It seems that he has decided not to travel back to his home and is now residing at their house just two miles from here.”

 The realization that a person who could be her friend now resided just near them delighted Piper who had been dealing with boredom and thinking of things to do and people to see. Sightseeing again would be very nice.

 “I forbid you to go anywhere, Piper,” Alex said coolly, choosing not to mention the impending danger that may be lurking. “Send Larry a note and tell him that we wish to have the few weeks entirely to ourselves.” When Alex noticed that Piper’s face had turned mutinous, Alex’s voice became clipped. “Do you understand me, Piper? I forbid you to go anywhere.”

 Slowly Piper rose, and Alex stood too, towering over her. “I think,” Piper breathed, staring up at the brunette in dazed, quiet anger, “You’re paranoid and crazy.”

 Unexplainably, the brunette smiled a little at that. “I don’t doubt that,” Alex said, unable to tell Piper that anyone outside her property could be a suspect or an instrument to be used to harm them. “But I still expect you to obey that.”

 Piper opened her mouth to tell the brunette she didn’t care at all for her silly rules, but Alex simply smiled rather seductively at her. “The bet, Piper... you promised to be an agreeable guest. You wouldn’t want to forfeit this early in the game, would you?”

 Piper gave her a hot look of disdain. “I’m in no danger of losing the bet, Miss. You’ve already lost it.” Holding her glass, Piper walked over to the table and pretended to inspect the carvings on the wood.

 “What’s that supposed to mean?” Alex asked, coming up silently to her.

 “Your part of the bet was to try to make yourself so agreeable to me so that I would want to stay with you.”

 “And?”

 “And,” She replied with an arch glance at Alex , “You’re failing.”

 Piper expected the brunette to arrogantly dismiss that without concern. Instead, Alex placed her hands on Piper’s shoulders and turned the blonde to face her. “In that case,” Alex said in her deep sultry voice, gazing down at Piper with a solemn smile. “I should try harder..much harder, right?”

 Caught unaware by the combination of gravity and the tenderness in the brunette’s expression, Piper let Alex kiss her, clinging to her sanity while Alex’s arms encircled her and drew her closer, as she bent her head and captured Piper’s mouth in a hot kiss. Alex kissed her long and lingeringly, tasting the blonde’s lips as if truly savoring each moment.

 When Alex finally dropped her arms many minutes later, Piper stared at her in speechless amazement. How could she be so impossibly tender one moment and so cold, harsh and irrational the next, she wondered, staring up into the brunette’s heavy-lidded, mesmerizing eyes. Piper’s voice was quiet as she voiced the thought running inside her head.

 “I truly wish I understood you.”

 “What is it you don’t understand?” Alex asked.

 “I’d like to know the real reason you ripped up at me at the stables today.”

 Piper expected Alex to dismiss the matter with a teasing remark or try to shrug it off, but the brunette surprised her by doing neither. “Actually, I gave you the real reason, but I left it for last,” answered Alex with quiet honesty.

 “What?’

 “My pride was hurt that you’d left me in the middle of the night,” The brunette admitted.

 “Your pride was hurt,” Piper repeated. “So you called me a bad name?”

 It took a moment for the blonde to realize that Alex was ridiculing herself and not her. “Surely you don’t expect me, with my stature and character to be humble and have the courage to look a woman in the eye and simply ask in a calm, reasonable voice why she didn’t want to spend the night with me?”

 “Why not?” Piper uttered, understanding what the brunette was trying to say but just found it a bit amusing that the very proud brunette was admitting something like this.

 “My ego. I was hurt,” Alex confessed.

 “Thank you for telling me the truth,” Piper said gently.

 “That’s the main reason why I tore into you. But I was also reminded of something about the house that got me into a foul mood.”

 “You grew up here. Right?”

 “And that is probably why I don’t like it,” Alex said as she took Piper’s hand and led her to the dining room.

 “What do you mean?”

 “I’m not ready to bare my soul yet, but because I promised you that I’d honor my end of the bargain, maybe we can ease into that. Just not right now. “

 

Alex once again set out to try harder to make herself agreeable during their meal, and she accomplished that goal triumphantly in a way that devastated Piper’s peace of mind.

 The first time Alex tried to do this, Piper thought Alex had tried to be pleasing to her, but the brunette’s efforts were nothing compared to this. For two hours while they were having dinner, Alex turned the full force of her charm on Piper, teasing the blonde with her flashing smile and amusing her with jokes and afterward, the brunette took Piper to bed and made love to her with a passionate intensity so hot it should have forged them into one body. Then when they finished in the wee hours of the morning, Alex held Piper into her arms against her heart throughout the night.

 

/

 

Nearly a month had passed since they’d laid down the terms of their bet, and Piper didn’t even notice how the days went by so fast.

 They had fallen into a unique pattern made them appear like they were a couple to an outsider’s eye. Of course, the people in the house knew that there was something going between the two, everyone almost knew but the two of them. The two women never talked about it, but as days went by, they became more comfortable with one another and were less embarrassed in showing little affections to one another.

 They had formed a habit of going for a walk together and even going into town to visit small shops.

 The two of them looked like a striking couple, Alex splendidly tall and elegant, grinning that lazy approving grin at her blonde companion who seemed able to make the brunette laugh with a joy that no one had ever before observed.

 To an outsider, the two might have even looked like they were in love with one another.

 Alex tried hard not to think too much about the exact term to encompass what she now felt for the blonde, but it was becoming harder and harder with each passing day. She could not see or hear or touch her enough to satisfy her craving for the blonde. At night, she would feel that hot need rising within her that seemed to increase instead of diminishing each time she orgasmed with her, and Piper would press herself against Alex as if she too could not be near enough to the brunette. In bed, the blonde was passionate and an irresistible lover intent on pleasing her. Alex showed Piper that there should be no room of embarrassment or shyness between them, and Piper responded by abandoning herself to the brunette’s caresses. Alex allowed Piper to hold nothing back from her, and after a few feeble attempts by the blonde to hide her passionate responses to the brunette’s lovemaking, Piper surrendered herself willingly to the wild and stormy tides that Alex caused to rise deep within her until she cried out. And then Alex would hold her in her arms, tracing Piper’s curves, whispering until they both slept, happy, peaceful and sated.

 For a month, Piper felt contentment in that aspect.

 They found a routine in working well together. Sometimes Piper would curl up in a corner of Alex’s study room during the day, helping Miss Claudette review things needed for the house, planning menus or simply reading, stealing small glances at Alex while the brunette leaned on her chair, going over correspondence and reports on her business ventures. Piper learned that ever since Alex had returned the brunette had been handling her family’s business.

 Occasionally, Alex would look up as if to reassure herself that the blonde was there and grin at her or give Piper a quick wink before turning her attention back to business at hand.

 In the beginning, Piper wondered whether Alex liked having her there during the day. This was Alex’s private world, where she dealt and discussed staggering amounts of money with John or with clients over the phone and gambled investments that Piper soon realized were amazingly perceptive and prudent. Alex liked her work, Piper realized, though she didn’t have to do it. Piper had overheard John telling Alex one night how the brunette had doubled her family’s wealth after she had taken over the business when he noticed that Alex had been overworking herself too much that night.

 Piper liked listening to Alex talking to her business associates. She adored the quiet authority in the brunette’s voice as she spoke to them. Alex was so quick, sure and decisive. She was also very beautiful, Piper thought every time she looked at the brunette. Piper began to feel safe and protected whenever she was with Alex.

 Whenever Alex was away for a night or two, she missed the brunette’s voice, her warm glances, and engaging smile.

 Their nights were filled with hot steamy lovemaking. Sometimes Alex lingered over Piper as tenderly as she could. Other times, Alex would tease Piper, deliberately tantalizing, making the blonde tell Alex exactly what she wanted, and then there were times when the brunette took Piper swiftly, almost roughly. And Piper couldn’t decide which way she loved the most.

 

/

 

Alex was looking forward to spending a quiet afternoon with Piper, enjoying a game of cards with her or just anything that involved her spending time with the blonde. She was beginning to like this simplicity and had not felt restless in days. Had she found the kind of life that she’d been searching for? She shook her head when she heard voices from outside, and when she came out of her office, she saw John’s distressed face followed by Miss Claudette’s. Alex raised her brows at them, questioning what was the matter.

 “Nikki and a few of your friends from the city are here,” John announced. “And I also saw..” John noticed that the brunette’s look darkened immediately, so he didn’t continue what he had been planning to say. He and other trusted and loyal confidants knew that Alex didn’t want any visitors these days.

 “Who?! Who did you see?”

 “I saw Larry with Nikki getting out of the car, and I think they’re already outside the patio right now.” That’s where guests would usually go to see the property and enjoy the view of the beach. Like Alex, Larry and Nikki both knew each other’s families too. The three of them came from the same social circle along with most of the friends also here with them.

 Alex couldn’t blame either John or Miss Claudette for this unforeseen happening, so she just sighed and told Miss Claudette to prepare some refreshments for their guests and instructed John to tell her friends that she’d be out in a while.

 Her mind wasn’t on deciding what clothes she was putting on but rather on the blonde who was currently on her room waiting for the brunette to tell her that she was ready for the afternoon that they had planned. Alex was also worried what Piper would think when she knew that her friends were here and Nikki, oh Nikki... What would she think of Piper? She’d seen how territorial and vicious Nikki can be when she felt threatened by other girls. Alex wasn’t worried about her blonde though, because the brunette had seen firsthand that Piper could handle herself, and that thought made her smile.

 “ _Your blonde?! Is she yours?_ ”

 Alex felt a cloud of melancholy sweep over her with that thought because deep inside she didn’t really know whether Piper liked her. Well, Alex didn’t understand what she felt either because she hadn’t stopped to analyze things, fearing that she’d only make herself disappointed. Whenever she felt that disappointment might be imminent, Alex’s instinct was to back away and close off. But what if Piper just feels like she has to do this with her, for lack of other options? The brunette had told the blonde that she can leave if she really wanted, but she’s still here, right? The way she was in bed, when Piper cried out for her, didn’t that say something that maybe Piper could like her too?

 Alex left her room after twenty minutes, thinking she couldn’t go through that right now, knowing she had guests waiting for her outside.

 Alex sent Maria to inform Piper that they had guests and that Alex would be happy if she would join them. Maria told her that they were Miss’s friends from the city, and Piper just managed a small ‘oh’ in response. Piper had gotten so used to living in a bubble here with only them that she had forgotten how it was to be with other people. Furthermore, these were Alex’s friends. What would they be like? Piper wondered. Would they suspect that there was something going on between her and their friend?

 Piper decided that she would face them by being her best self, just like how she would when she faced executives while pitching ideas for products in her previous work before.

_To be continued..._

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me what you think please

**_6 months earlier..._ **

_“How will I explain this? How will I replace all that money? I can’t go to my parents for help... Dad said he would kill me if he knew I was still gambling! Fuck!”_

_Larry worries desperately as he downs his fifth glass of whiskey at a local bar, lamenting over the little time that he has left to come up with what he owes a gambling lord who’d lent him money to replace the funds he’d squandered from his environmental organization’s benefit dinner two months ago. His father has already expressed that he’s had more than enough of Larry’s dirty addiction and threatened his son with an ultimatum to either straighten up or else he would personally deliver Larry over to the police. But Larry can’t go to jail. He’d ruin his family’s reputation, and that’s simply not an option because his family’s high social standing is what had got him involved with this environmental organization in the first place._

_“One more, Ed,” Larry tells the bar owner, ordering another drink._

_“Take it easy, Larry. We don’t want anything to happen to you. You’ve been a great help to this community.”_

_Larry just smiles at that last remark. They just don’t know what he’s been doing these last two years. At the beginning, Larry thought that he would gamble the organization’s money  to double the funds and support the local community even further. His father and all the people working with the organization would’ve been proud of him, and he would’ve been seen as a local hero. But his plan to increase his social standing has exploded in his face because not only has he been socializing with less-than-savory people, Larry’s also lost all that the organization had been able to raise at the benefit and now owes even more to very dangerous people._

_Last week, Larry was visited by a bunch of goons sent by the man who controls the underground gambling casinos who has threatened to cut off his balls if Larry doesn’t find the money to pay their boss._

_Covering his face with his hand, Larry doesn’t notice the man with a moustache who’s been quietly observing him from across the bar. This man has actually been following and studying his every move for days now, but Larry hasn’t noticed because he’s been so lost in his own problems._

_An hour later, Larry is staggering at the steps entering his property when he hears a voice from behind him._

_“I know what you did, and I can help you.”_

_“What?! Who are you?!” Larry yells frightened, now discovering that someone had been following him._

_“You don’t need to know anything about me,” the man answers dryly as he steps forward with a briefcase in his hand. Larry steps back, afraid that this man has been also sent by the gang leader in another attempt to collect Larry’s debts to him._

_The man with a moustache opens the briefcase and shows its contents to Larry. “I will pay you all of this cash, which you’ll be able to use to save your life. But in return, you must do something for me.”_

_Larry feels so confused and even more fearful for his life. “And if I don’t agree?”_

_The man with a moustache smiled. “You’re in no position to disagree. I can bring you to the authorities and tell them what a two-faced liar you are, pretending to help the poor when you’re really just a spineless, low-life prick. If it wasn’t for your rich parents, you’d be rotting in jail right now!” the man seethed as if his words were poison that he just wants to get out of his mouth._

_“Or, I could just kill you right here, right now.”_

_Shaking, Larry asks, “What do you want me to do?”_

_The man nods, pleased that Larry is asking the right question and begins to walk away slowly. “I will be back.”_

_“What about my debts?” Larry calls out._

_“That will be taken care of,” Mendez answers without turning back to the coward he’s just lowered himself to talk to, but is very pleased that he’s finally found the pawn he needs to complete his scheme._

_“That bitch Alex will finally get what’s been coming to her.”_

**_Present day..._ **

In the distance, against a backdrop of the ocean and lush of green lawns sloping gently towards a sandy beach, servants are passing trays among what has to be at least 15 guests, who are already lounging on benches, sitting in chairs under umbrella-topped tables, talking and laughing in animated groups, or strolling along the beach.

Silhouetted against an orange sky, a gleaming white yacht drifts languidly at anchor – a yacht which Piper recognizes as the one owned by Larry’s family.

At the edge of the lawn, she stops and surveys the crowd with whom she is about to mingle. Besides Larry, she doesn’t know anyone there. All of them look like fabulously rich people.

Piper has been scanning the crowd for Alex and when she spots her, the brunette looks completely unimpressed by the gathering of her friends. In fact, Alex looks irritated. When Alex looks up however, she finally spots Piper standing across the lawn and slowly starts walking to her.

“I’m sorry, Piper. I didn’t know that my friends were coming. I know we planned on doing something on our own, but I’m afraid this weekend will turn out to be noisy, crowded and frenetic.”

Although Piper feels rather ill at ease to be surrounded by strangers, she manages an air of nonchalance and gives Alex a jaunty smile. “Maybe I’ll be lucky, and no one will even realize that I’m here.”

“Don’t count on it,” the brunette warns with a dry smile as the two women walk back down towards the throng of people. Alex directs Piper to a mini bar which Alex steps behind to make drinks for her guests. Rather than staring at the brunette like a besotted idiot, Piper forces herself to turn and observe her surroundings.

A few of the guests have been already noticing the two women and have been wondering who the new girl is. As Piper’s gaze moves over to a chattering group nearby, a pretty curly-haired dirty blonde glances up and sees Alex.

With a smile dawning across her features, the woman leaves her friends and hurries toward Alex and Piper, her wide-legged lounging pants swaying softly at her ankles. “Alex, darling!” she calls, laughing, her hands already sliding up the brunette’s arm as she leans forward to kiss her.

Alex places the liquor down and smiles at Nikki as she slowly releases her. Piper notes that the curly-haired woman has kept her hands on Alex’s arms while smiling warmly into the brunette’s eyes. “Everyone has been missing you. You rarely grace us with your presence anymore,” the woman says with a pout. Piper wonders whether the dirty blonde’s really talking about everyone or just herself. Piper tries to push away the strange twinge of jealousy that she feels, thinking that she’s being irrational. These are Alex’s friends, and they miss her. Alex and the girl must be really close to one another. Anyone would realize that seeing how comfortable the girl is with the brunette.

“And who’s this?” asks the curly-haired girl brightly, at last taking her hands from Alex’s arms and stepping back to regard Piper with open curiosity.

“Piper, this is Nikki Nichols,” Alex introduces the two while eyeing Piper closely, observing her reactions to all of this.

“You can call me Nikki,” says the woman, but at once she turns back to Alex and continues, almost as if Piper isn’t there. “I thought you were going to visit last week.”

“Really?” Alex mocks lightly. “I thought you were with Lorna.” The brunette knows that Nikki has been seeing this other girl ever since Alex told her that she can’t see Nikki frequently anymore.

Until a few months ago, Alex had been enjoying Nikki’s sensuous beauty and seductive voice. But now, Alex can’t help but feel that Nikki lacks something critical. Her eyes aren’t the shade of the ocean. The dirty blonde doesn’t look at her with that sideways glance; she doesn’t tremble in her arms with shy, awakening emotions that Alex can’t identify. Nikki is too available and too eager to please her, but then women always have been. They don’t spar with her or stubbornly defy her. They aren’t fresh and alive and witty and wonderful. They aren’t...

Alex couldn’t continue her thoughts, but her eyes are on Piper.

“I was,” Nikki admits. “But I wanted to see you.”

The elite circle to which Alex belongs is used to this kind of vulgarity. Nikki is sophisticated and haughty enough not to deny what Alex has thrown at her, but of course that won’t stop her from showing the brunette that she still wants her. Everyone in their circle knows that Nikki’s been Alex’s lover, for she alone has been able to match her. In Alex’s mind, she just likes Nikki in bed; she couldn’t care less about others might think.

Piper is carefully watching the two women, thinking that they’re likely not the platonic friends she first thought they were.

Nikki leaves a few moments later, and Alex hands Piper the drink that she had mixed for the blonde just as Larry begins striding towards them.

“Alex! Piper!” Larry greets delightedly and flings his arms around Piper in utter disregard for the drink that the blonde is holding and kisses her eagerly on the cheeks, immediately making Alex want to punch him in the face. Piper, for her part, is just happy to see an acquaintance amongst a sea of strangers.

“I’m so glad to see you two! Alex, your friends from the city haven’t seen you for months either!” exclaims Larry. “What on earth have you been doing?”

“Some of us needs to work for a living, Larry,” Alex tells him icily.

Reaching out, Larry once again catches Piper’s arms and draws her closer to him. “I’m so happy to see you again, Piper.”

Remembering how Alex responded last time, Piper is immediately cautious of her proximity to Larry, and she intends to just enjoy talking with him as a friend tonight. But with Alex on her side, she doesn’t feel like she ever will.

One of the servant’s announcements interrupt the three of them, informing everyone that dinner will be served within the hour.

Piper watches as nearly all the guests begin strolling towards the house.

“Everyone is freshening up for dinner,” comments Larry and excuses himself to take a phone call.

The inside of the house is filled with voices of all the guests. Laughter and conversation drift from different rooms on the two levels of the house while maids show the guests where they can stay if they intend to spend the night.

Alex asks one of the maids for the phone messages that have been left at her office since she left to tend to her friends. After the maid hands the messages to Alex, the brunette turns to Piper with a warm smile. “I’ll meet you after an hour. I have to return this call. Can you manage without me for that long?”

“I’ll be fine,” Piper reassures her. “Take your time.”

“Are you certain?”

With Alex’s compelling eyes searching hers, Piper can’t be certain even of her own name, but she nods anyway.

After Alex leaves, Piper turns to find Nikki watching her with open curiosity and quickly wipes the dreamy expression off her face.

“Where are you from?” Nikki casually inquires.

“I’m from a small town in Missouri,” Piper answers.

“And what’s a small town girl from Missouri doing at this Island?” Nikki sniffs, as if there is an offensive odor associated with Piper’s home state.

“Alex wanted me here. To help her with something.” That’s all Piper can manage since she assumes that Alex’s friends are ignorant of the real reason she’s here. Piper knows how secretive the brunette is.

“Hmmm. How long---“ Nikki’s inquiry is cut short when she hears her name being called by other guests and excuses herself.

After Piper goes to check the kitchen to see how the preparations are going and to check whether Miss Claudette needs help, the blonde walks to the bathroom and partially opens the door but pauses at the sound of a female voice which Piper eventually identifies as Nina, one of the friends who had called for Nikki earlier. Piper’s ears prick up as she hears her name enter the conversation. “Nikki, did you speak to Alex yet?”

“Yes, I’ve already talked to her.”

“And? How was it?” Nina asks.

“I wasn’t able to talk to her about anything because she was with this farm girl from Missouri.” The derisive laughter in Nikki’s voice makes Piper stiffen.

“The blonde girl she was with earlier? Is she the new flavour of the month?” Nina giggles.

“Oh hush! You know how Alex is. She does that, but she always comes back to me.”

“You won’t believe it. She looked like a puppy looking adoringly into Alex’s eyes, and Alex even had to ask the girl if she’d be alright by herself....” The voices faded as the two women moved away.

Nikki’s verbal attack stuns and irritates Piper, but she calmly pulls herself together and slowly walks back outside. She won’t let that affect her even if it’s hard not to. Piper knows she has no right to be jealous. Alex is not her girlfriend. That gorgeous brunette who just oozes with sex appeal is not _hers._ And she knew perfectly well what she was getting herself into when they’d made that bet. The brunette had not promised her anything, only that Alex would be her most desirable self. Nothing more. But why does she feel like a jealous girlfriend now? Piper slowly realizes the truth that she wants more. She wants that infuriating, enigmatic, sweet and caring in her own way, tall woman to be hers.

Piper told herself that Alex has done her part to honor the bargain, so she will do hers.

Still with half an hour left before dinner, Piper decides to change her clothes. She’s not going to act like she’s from a small town girl in Missouri. She will be her best and smart self right now, able to socialize with Alex’s friends. The brunette doesn’t care about all of these things, so why should she? Alex wants her here, so Piper damn will enjoy the night with her.

Seated at her dressing table, Piper finishes brushing her hair once she realizes that it’s almost time for dinner. Alex is surely at outside waiting for her by now. The blonde stands up then steps back, so she can study herself in front of the mirror. Piper had found this elegant cream dress included with the clothes that Alex had provided for her. The soft fabric emphasizes her breasts, and while the dress looks classically demure from the front, it is undeniably sexy from the back because it exposes Piper’s trim back almost all the way to the waist.

Walking across the balcony, Piper can hear the laughing voices of the women and the murmuring voices of the males mingling with the upbeat music playing throughout the dining hall. Piper cranes her neck, trying to glimpse Alex’s tall frame and quickly sees the brunette standing with guests who are speaking to her animatedly. With her head tipped toward them, Alex appears to be listening with rapt attention, and yet, periodically, the brunette’s gaze would flicker up and slide over the crowd.

Alex is looking for her, Piper realizes with an inner glow. As though the brunette is able to sense her nearness, Alex lifts her head sharply, and her eyes meet Piper’s across the space. With an abruptness that was almost discourteous, the brunette simply nods to her friends and without a word strolls out of their midst.

As Alex walks nearer, Piper notices that the brunette has also changed, and the sight causes her breath to catch. The brunette is wearing a black dress that fits perfectly with her sexy body and looks even more splendid with her tall frame.

Alex for her part finds herself growing speechless once she fully sees how beautiful Piper looks in her dress. The torchlight dances off the gold of Piper’s hair, and Alex’s gaze moves over the blonde’s glowing face, luminous blue eyes, and softly full lips before sweeping downward over the lush outlines of her figure.

“Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?” Alex asks Piper softly.

Piper smiles consciously. Alex has always been capable of making her feel that.

“You look beautiful too.”

“Thank you. Well, if you’d like to know, no one has told me that tonight.”

Piper laughs. “I think you’re just trying to appear modest.”

“You think so? Tell me, what should I have done after that compliment?” Alex teases.

“I suppose you could have appeared a little flustered and embarrassed by the flattery,” answers the blonde.

“I don’t embarrass very easily,” says Alex in her deep voice. “But I do know that I can make _you_ fluster easily.”

The blonde isn’t swayed by that and continues to play with the brunette, enjoying this light banter with her.

“Oh, really? Do you think you can fluster me now?” Piper jokes, assured that Alex will fail as Piper is now on her guard.

Alex takes the blonde’s hand and turns her slowly to see the full sight of Piper’s dress on her.

“Well?” Piper asks teasingly.

Burning hazel eyes finally lift to Piper, but instead of answering, Alex flicks her eyes down the blonde’s length again. The brunette hesitates, wanting to toy with the blonde by not really telling her what she really thinks and then abruptly says, “I think the dress fits you perfectly well.”

Piper bursts out laughing. “Don’t ever believe anyone who tells you that you have a way with flattery because you don’t!”

“Is that right?” Alex mocks, her eyes challenging. “In that case, I’ll tell you exactly what I think. I think that you’re exquisitely lovely and that you have the fascinating ability to look extremely sexy, sophisticated, sweet, and angelic at the same time.” And with the next words, Alex’s voice turns deep in a way that makes Piper feel hot and wet in between her legs. “And I wish to hell that we weren’t trapped here with my friends for the next few hours because whenever I look at you I become... uncomfortably eager.. to find out how you’re going to feel in my arms tonight with my hand sneaking up inside your dress.”

Piper’s fair complexion immediately blooms with color, and she desperately looks everywhere except at the brunette.

Firmly taking her chin between her thumb and forefinger, Alex turns Piper’s face up to hers, forcing the blonde to look at her. “If you think I’m beautiful, then why won’t you look at me?”

“Uhmm that was a silly thing for me to say..” Piper say referring to her challenge a minute ago.

“But I meant every word that I said,” Alex interrupts, her voice turning even more husky. The brunette glances up as someone calls her name but then pretends that she hadn’t heard anything. Putting her hand behind Piper’s back, she steers the blonde to where servants are busy serving the guests with food. “Come, let’s get you something to eat.”

On their way, Alex introduces Piper to all her friends one-by-one. Some look at her curiously, and others look friendly and smile at her genuinely. Only Larry makes Piper feel comfortable with how warm he is with her all the time.

In the next hour of dinner, three of Alex’s friends call for her saying they have a business proposal for her that they have wanted to talk about. Alex feels irritated knowing that some of her friends are only here for that purpose, but she must face them and get this over with as soon as possible, knowing they would just become even more insistent if she continues to ignore them.

“As much as I’d like to spend the evening alone with you, I have to socialize. I can’t keep pretending I’m blind and deaf much longer,” Alex tells the blonde.

“I understand,” Piper answers sympathetically.

Alex throws an annoyed look over the entire crowd, as if each person there constitutes a personal threat to her peace. “I only wanted to be able to relax and have a quiet weekend with you because I have been working myself to the ground for two weeks,” Alex says angrily.

“If you really don’t want to talk to anyone about business, there’s no reason why you have to.”

“When people have come all the way here from the city, that means they really do mean business.”

“Just leave them to me,” Piper says with a bewitching smile. “I’ll hold them off.”

“You will?” Alex grins. “And just how will you do that?”

Beneath her luxuriant lashes, Piper’s blue eyes are twinkling. “The moment anyone starts talking to you about business, I’ll interrupt and pretend to distract you.”

Alex’s gaze dropped to her lips. “That shouldn’t be difficult.. You always distract me.”

For the next three hours, Piper does precisely as she’d promised. She smoothly extricates Alex from a handful of business conversations. The moment the discussion begins turning towards business, Piper interrupts to sweetly remind Alex that she had promised that they were going to get a drink, or that she was going to show her something or take her for a walk – whatever ploy occurs to her at the moment.

And Alex lets her do it, observing her highly effective verbal manoeuvring with a mixture of frank admiration and veiled amusement. Alex is glad that Piper isn’t intimidated by all her friends. Throughout the evening, Alex has noticed several instances in which Nikki has visibly appeared less than entirely happy with how Piper has been constantly at her side and how she seems to occupy all of Alex’s attention. Earlier that night, the brunette had been irritated by Larry’s presence, but she barely even notices him anymore with Piper giving her all her attention. There is something strange with her long time friend though. He seems to be looking at them strangely tonight, as if he wants to do or say something. Alex senses something, but she just can’t quite put her finger into it.

With her drink in her left hand and her right arm around Piper’s waist, Alex has kept the blonde by her side, shamelessly using her as a voluntary shield. But as the evening progresses and the liquor continues flowing non-stop, conversations have become louder, the laughter more hilarious, and Alex’s friends who have wanted to talk to her have become more insistent.

“Does your leg really have cramps?” Alex asks in a teasing whisper as she and Piper stroll away from one of her friends who had been telling her about some kind of product.

Piper is sipping her third glass of margarita which she soon realizes is far more potent than she had imagined.

“Of course not, my legs are perfect,” she answers gaily.

Alex takes Piper’s empty glass from her hand and places it down on an umbrella-topped table beside her. “Shall we walk down the beach?”

The party is still in progress back at the house as they stand together on the beach, listening to the music and laughter, watching the moonlight streaming across the sea. “Dance with me,” Alex says, and Piper walks into the brunette’s arms, loving the feel of them sliding around her.

Laying her cheek against the smooth fabric of Alex’s dress, Piper moves with her in time to the beat of the music that’s playing, vibrantly aware of the brunette’s legs shifting intimately between hers.

This has been a long day, but right now Piper feels deliciously exhausted and more than a little giddy.

At the same time they both look at each other and see something different in each other’s eyes.

Then Alex’s mouth opens over Piper’s in a shattering kiss that sends the blonde spiralling off into a darkness where nothing exists except for the full, sensual lips locked fiercely and demandingly into hers.

Alex’s hand sinks into the golden hair at her nape and the brunette’s tongue plunges into her mouth, stroking and caressing her own, retreating to plunge again until Piper instinctively gives what Alex is seeking for. Her lips soften and begin to move with the brunette’s, stimulating the desire already flaming between them. Mindlessly, Piper arches forward in a fevered need to please Alex more, and the brunette’s arm tightens across her hips, pulling her closer to mold the blonde further into her body.

Alex drags her mouth roughly across her cheek and whispers hoarsely with desire. “You make me want you so much,” she murmurs deeply and presses her lips to the blonde again.

Slowly the pressure of the brunette’s mouth gentles, and Alex pulls away. “Let’s say goodnight to our guests. I just want to spend the night with you.”

“Hey Alex!” A friendly voice booms out from a few feet away.

They both turn to see one of Alex’s friends, a stout and pudgy fellow who reminded Piper of a teddy bear. His evening shirt is already unbuttoned at the chest, and he is smiling jovially. Alex introduces the man as Big Boo, and Piper decides immediately that he’s lovable.

“How are you doing, Mr. Big Boo?” Piper asks politely.

“I’m doing pretty well, lovely lady,” he replies with a grin. Turning to Alex, he begins discussing their planned investment and the right figures that are required.

Keeping a courteous smile on her face, Piper rests her head against Alex’s arm, moving closer to her for warmth while she pretends to listen to Big boo sum up the results of his studies. Not only does Piper feel cold, but she is also getting sleepy, and Alex’s hand moving up and down her back in a lazy caress is having an almost hypnotic effect on her.

“I’m putting your lovely lady to sleep, Alex,” Big Boo apologizes in the middle of quoting the odds on a forthcoming bid.

Piper straightens self-consciously and tries to put on a bright smile on her face. “No, it’s fine. In fact, I think I would like to get another drink. Would you like one, Alex?” Piper asks.

Alex feels a little disappointed that Piper’s leaving her side, but she lets her go, thinking about how she doesn’t want to bore the blonde with business talk, and she does really need to talk to Big Boo about this.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll meet you at the house in a couple of minutes, okay?”

Piper nods and walks back towards the party. As she nears the bar, Piper is met by Larry who is wearing such a serious-looking face, Piper thinks that there is a problem with him.

“Are you okay, Larry?” Piper asks with concern in her face.

“I need to talk to you, Piper.” He seems like he’s in a hurry, like someone is running after him, and they’re about to catch him.

Larry is desperate now. It’s been a month since Mendez came to him and told him everything he needs to know and do. Larry had already chosen to live closer to them, but with how strict Alex is when it comes to visitors, Larry hadn’t been able to get to them in normal ways, which made Mendez furious who then threatened to kill him. But his luck materialized when he met Nikki a week ago while in the city, and she mentioned Alex to him Alex, asking if he’d had a chance to visit her at the island, and that’s when Larry saw the opening in which to execute his plans. Mendez explained the real deal with Alex and Piper to Larry before, but it is only after he’s followed the two women down to the beach and has gotten the chance to observe them tonight that it’s become apparent to Larry how he can get to and destroy Alex: through Piper.

“You have no idea who she really is,” Larry tells Piper desperately.

“What are you talking about, Larry?” Piper asks puzzled at what this is all about.

“Alex! She’s not who you think she is! Is she keeping you against your will here? Is she?!” Larry asks frantically.

“No, Larry! What are you talking about?!” Piper begins getting a little nervous seeing Larry like this right now, but she wants to know what he knows.

“She’s not?! I know what really happened. I know she took you. If she’s not keeping you against your will here then...” Larry had thought that it would be easy to use Piper if she’s been kept here against her will, but with what he’s seen the whole night and the way that the blonde had looked at Alex while they were strolling on the beach...

“Oh my God.. You’re in love with her,” Larry says in disbelief, and Piper feels shivers down her spine upon hearing what Larry has said. She has never heard it out loud like this before, and it is that much more coming from somebody else’s mouth.

Larry takes her by the arm to make her listen. “Don’t tell her that I told you this because she will kill you. Believe me, she will. She lied to you. She has more to do with why you’re here, she’s an evil person. ” Piper sees Larry look up, and when she turns, she sees Alex approaching them and looking at Larry like she’s going to shoot bullets through her eyes.

Larry lets her go but whispers, “Come and see me, and I’ll tell you everything. Meet me just outside Alex’s property by the creek next week. I’ll wait for you there.” And with that he quickly walks away.

“I tried to finish what I had with Big Boo quickly, thinking that you’d be waiting for me, but I guess I was wrong,” Alex says, and Piper knows that the brunette was upset.

“No, he was just trying to keep me company,” Piper says, feeling bad that she has to lie.

The two of them walk back to the house without speaking another word to one another.

Once they reach the house, it is obvious that Alex’s mood has changed, and she tells Piper that she can retire for the night.

Feeling a little disappointed about that but still feeling very confused with all that Larry had just told her, Piper bids her goodnight and goes to her own room, but deep inside she still hopes that the brunette might change her mind and join her later.

She knows that Alex isn’t a saint. She’s seen firsthand how dark the brunette can be, but she has also seen a different side of Alex that she believes only a few people have had the privilege of seeing, and that’s because Alex is slowly opening up to her. Slowly trusting her. Is there a truth in Larry’s accusations?

 She doesn’t believe one bit that Alex is capable of hurting her though. If she can only make her open up fully, Piper believes that the brunette can be the most gentle, if she only chooses to. And Alex has already shown her bits and pieces of that side.

But still, Piper needs to find out the truth.

Piper needs to find out everything about Alex and find answers to all of these questions, although she’s not sure how she will be once she gets to the bottom of everything.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me what you think about this chapter. Enjoy!

When Piper entered the house she was greeted by the sight of Miss Claudette coming towards her. She wanted to feel happy seeing the old lady back but after what had just happened, she didn’t know if anything could lift up her spirits. The old lady must have seen her mistress before finding Piper because she immediately started trying to reassure the blonde. “Miss Alex must be having a bad day… I have not seen her in a temper like that in such a long time.” Despite Miss Claudette’s reassuring tone, her kindly old face was twisted with bewildered concern as she stared at the corridor leading to the brunette’s room.

 

In silence, Piper turned her head and stared at her old confidant, her eyes alive with anger and painful confusion as the old lady continued. “I placed her on her first pony, and I’ve known her since she was a little girl, and there is no one braver, finer...”

 

“Please!” Piper burst out, unable to endure another of the glowing stories she used to enjoy so much. “No more lies! You can’t make her fine and dashing to me when she’s alive, and I can see perfectly well that she’s.... she’s an evil-tempered, heartless monster!”

 

“No, Piper, she’s not. I know her just as I knew her father and her mother---“

 

“I’m sure her father was a monster too!” Piper blurted, too hurt and angry to mind what she is saying. “I’ve no doubt they’re exactly alike!”

 

“No, Piper! No. You’re wrong. More wrong than anybody’s ever been if you think a thing like that!”

 

Stunned by the intensity of that denial, Piper brought her temper under control and managed a weak, bitter smile and shrug. “My grandfather always said that if you want to know what a person will become, look at their parents.”

 

“Well, he’s wrong on Miss Alex’s case.”

 

Piper sighed deeply and realized that Miss Claudette must be a veritable source of information on Alex. If only she could only get the old lady to tell her everything about the brunette.

 

“Since I’m not allowed to go anywhere, would you care to walk with me to the garden?”

 

The old lady nodded, and they both walked the path leading to the garden near the shores and stood in front to study the beautiful buds that are newly blossoming.

 

Appearing to have just a mild interest, Piper casually inquired, “Speaking of Alex’s father, what was he like?”

 

Miss Claudette shifted uneasily from one foot to another. “He never noticed anybody beneath him, nor cared for anybody but himself.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I have to get to work,” Miss Claudette said miserably. “Let’s just continue talking next time, okay? I have to finish preparing dinner.”

 

Seeing that it would be useless to press the old lady further as she was already on her heels going back up to the house, Piper let Miss Claudette go. Still, she couldn’t banish the feeling of curiosity over the source.

 

Wanting to pass the time, Piper decided an hour later to call on Maria, one of the maids, to show her where she could do her laundry. Maria insisted on doing it for the blonde, but Piper seriously needed to do something in this house. Maria was a devoted servant to Alex as was her family before her to Alex’s family. Piper learned that her ailing father was someone who had worked closely with Alex’s father before. But the moment Piper asked about her hostess’ parents, Maria, like Miss Claudette, also suddenly recalled that she had an urgent work to do.

 

/

 

Dressed in a peach sundress, with her hair on a ponytail, Piper left her room at 8, which was usually the time they took their dinner, and walked slowly going to the dining area. She was to face Alex for the first time since their angry confrontation at the stable and wasn’t at all certain about how their conversation was going to transpire.

 

John stepped forward when she was about to enter the dining room. Confused, Piper looked at him in confusion.

 

“Alex is outside the veranda taking a glass of champagne before supper, and she asks if you will join her there.”

 

Alex glanced up when Piper entered the veranda and walked over to the table where she poured a glass for the blonde. Piper watched the brunette’s skilful movements and gazed at the brunette’s tall, lithe frame while she tried to ignore how incredibly gorgeous Alex looked in a black slacks and sleeveless silk blouse. Wordlessly, the brunette held the glass of wine toward her.

 

Uncertain of her mood, Piper walked forward and took the glass from Alex’s outstretched hand.

 

Her first words made Piper long to pour the wine over the brunette’s head. “In the future, please be at the dining room before eight, Piper.”

 

Fire ignited in Piper’s eyes, but she managed to keep her voice level. “You have already told me where I may sleep, where I may go, and when I must eat. Are you also planning to tell me when I can breathe?”

 

Alex’s brows snapped together, then she leaned her head back and sighed heavily. “Piper,” she said, sounding both apologetic and exasperated, “I meant to begin by apologizing for the way I treated you at the stable today. You returned late, and I was worried about you. I didn’t intend to start our evening off now by reprimanding you or suffocating you with more rules. I’m not an ogre—“ Alex broke off as John came in and told Alex about a recent visitor to the island. Slightly pacified by Alex’s apology, Piper sat on one of the chairs as she listened.

 

John informed Alex that Larry had stopped at the dock earlier and left a message to Alex, asking if he could visit sometime and maybe take the ladies again for more sight-seeing.

 

Alex’s eyes suddenly turned flinty and her jaw clenched so tight that the bones of her face stood out as she continued listening to John’s report.

 

“It seems that he has decided not to travel back to his home and is now residing at their house just two miles from here.”

 

The realization that a person who could be her friend now resided just near them delighted Piper who had been dealing with boredom and thinking of things to do and people to see. Sightseeing again would be very nice.

 

“I forbid you to go anywhere, Piper,” Alex said coolly, choosing not to mention the impending danger that may be lurking. “Send Larry a note and tell him that we wish to have the few weeks entirely to ourselves.” When Alex noticed that Piper’s face had turned mutinous, Alex’s voice became clipped. “Do you understand me, Piper? I forbid you to go anywhere.”

 

Slowly Piper rose, and Alex stood too, towering over her. “I think,” Piper breathed, staring up at the brunette in dazed, quiet anger, “You’re paranoid and crazy.”

 

Unexplainably, the brunette smiled a little at that. “I don’t doubt that,” Alex said, unable to tell Piper that anyone outside her property could be a suspect or an instrument to be used to harm them. “But I still expect you to obey that.”

 

Piper opened her mouth to tell the brunette she didn’t care at all for her silly rules, but Alex simply smiled rather seductively at her. “The bet, Piper... you promised to be an agreeable guest. You wouldn’t want to forfeit this early in the game, would you?”

 

Piper gave her a hot look of disdain. “I’m in no danger of losing the bet, Miss. You’ve already lost it.” Holding her glass, Piper walked over to the table and pretended to inspect the carvings on the wood.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Alex asked, coming up silently to her.

 

“Your part of the bet was to try to make yourself so agreeable to me so that I would want to stay with you.”

 

“And?”

 

“And,” She replied with an arch glance at Alex , “You’re failing.”

 

Piper expected the brunette to arrogantly dismiss that without concern. Instead, Alex placed her hands on Piper’s shoulders and turned the blonde to face her. “In that case,” Alex said in her deep sultry voice, gazing down at Piper with a solemn smile. “I should try harder..much harder, right?”

 

Caught unaware by the combination of gravity and the tenderness in the brunette’s expression, Piper let Alex kiss her, clinging to her sanity while Alex’s arms encircled her and drew her closer, as she bent her head and captured Piper’s mouth in a hot kiss. Alex kissed her long and lingeringly, tasting the blonde’s lips as if truly savoring each moment.

 

When Alex finally dropped her arms many minutes later, Piper stared at her in speechless amazement. How could she be so impossibly tender one moment and so cold, harsh and irrational the next, she wondered, staring up into the brunette’s heavy-lidded, mesmerizing eyes. Piper’s voice was quiet as she voiced the thought running inside her head.

 

“I truly wish I understood you.”

 

“What is it you don’t understand?” Alex asked.

 

“I’d like to know the real reason you ripped up at me at the stables today.”

 

Piper expected Alex to dismiss the matter with a teasing remark or try to shrug it off, but the brunette surprised her by doing neither. “Actually, I gave you the real reason, but I left it for last,” answered Alex with quiet honesty.

 

“What?’

 

“My pride was hurt that you’d left me in the middle of the night,” The brunette admitted.

 

“Your pride was hurt,” Piper repeated. “So you called me a bad name?”

 

It took a moment for the blonde to realize that Alex was ridiculing herself and not her. “Surely you don’t expect me, with my stature and character to be humble and have the courage to look a woman in the eye and simply ask in a calm, reasonable voice why she didn’t want to spend the night with me?”

 

“Why not?” Piper uttered, understanding what the brunette was trying to say but just found it a bit amusing that the very proud brunette was admitting something like this.

 

“My ego. I was hurt,” Alex confessed.

 

“Thank you for telling me the truth,” Piper said gently.

 

“That’s the main reason why I tore into you. But I was also reminded of something about the house that got me into a foul mood.”

 

“You grew up here. Right?”

 

“And that is probably why I don’t like it,” Alex said as she took Piper’s hand and led her to the dining room.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I’m not ready to bare my soul yet, but because I promised you that I’d honor my end of the bargain, maybe we can ease into that. Just not right now. “

 

Alex once again set out to try harder to make herself agreeable during their meal, and she accomplished that goal triumphantly in a way that devastated Piper’s peace of mind.

 

The first time Alex tried to do this, Piper thought Alex had tried to be pleasing to her, but the brunette’s efforts were nothing compared to this. For two hours while they were having dinner, Alex turned the full force of her charm on Piper, teasing the blonde with her flashing smile and amusing her with jokes and afterward, the brunette took Piper to bed and made love to her with a passionate intensity so hot it should have forged them into one body. Then when they finished in the wee hours of the morning, Alex held Piper into her arms against her heart throughout the night.

 

/

 

Nearly a month had passed since they’d laid down the terms of their bet, and Piper didn’t even notice how the days went by so fast.

 

They had fallen into a unique pattern made them appear like they were a couple to an outsider’s eye. Of course, the people in the house knew that there was something going between the two, everyone almost knew but the two of them. The two women never talked about it, but as days went by, they became more comfortable with one another and were less embarrassed in showing little affections to one another.

 

They had formed a habit of going for a walk together and even going into town to visit small shops.

 

The two of them looked like a striking couple, Alex splendidly tall and elegant, grinning that lazy approving grin at her blonde companion who seemed able to make the brunette laugh with a joy that no one had ever before observed.

 

To an outsider, the two might have even looked like they were in love with one another.

 

Alex tried hard not to think too much about the exact term to encompass what she now felt for the blonde, but it was becoming harder and harder with each passing day. She could not see or hear or touch her enough to satisfy her craving for the blonde. At night, she would feel that hot need rising within her that seemed to increase instead of diminishing each time she orgasmed with her, and Piper would press herself against Alex as if she too could not be near enough to the brunette. In bed, the blonde was passionate and an irresistible lover intent on pleasing her. Alex showed Piper that there should be no room of embarrassment or shyness between them, and Piper responded by abandoning herself to the brunette’s caresses. Alex allowed Piper to hold nothing back from her, and after a few feeble attempts by the blonde to hide her passionate responses to the brunette’s lovemaking, Piper surrendered herself willingly to the wild and stormy tides that Alex caused to rise deep within her until she cried out. And then Alex would hold her in her arms, tracing Piper’s curves, whispering until they both slept, happy, peaceful and sated.

 

For a month, Piper felt contentment in that aspect.

 

They found a routine in working well together. Sometimes Piper would curl up in a corner of Alex’s study room during the day, helping Miss Claudette review things needed for the house, planning menus or simply reading, stealing small glances at Alex while the brunette leaned on her chair, going over correspondence and reports on her business ventures. Piper learned that ever since Alex had returned the brunette had been handling her family’s business.

 

Occasionally, Alex would look up as if to reassure herself that the blonde was there and grin at her or give Piper a quick wink before turning her attention back to business at hand.

 

In the beginning, Piper wondered whether Alex liked having her there during the day. This was Alex’s private world, where she dealt and discussed staggering amounts of money with John or with clients over the phone and gambled investments that Piper soon realized were amazingly perceptive and prudent. Alex liked her work, Piper realized, though she didn’t have to do it. Piper had overheard John telling Alex one night how the brunette had doubled her family’s wealth after she had taken over the business when he noticed that Alex had been overworking herself too much that night.

 

Piper liked listening to Alex talking to her business associates. She adored the quiet authority in the brunette’s voice as she spoke to them. Alex was so quick, sure and decisive. She was also very beautiful, Piper thought every time she looked at the brunette. Piper began to feel safe and protected whenever she was with Alex.

 

Whenever Alex was away for a night or two, she missed the brunette’s voice, her warm glances, and engaging smile.

 

Their nights were filled with hot steamy lovemaking. Sometimes Alex lingered over Piper as tenderly as she could. Other times, Alex would tease Piper, deliberately tantalizing, making the blonde tell Alex exactly what she wanted, and then there were times when the brunette took Piper swiftly, almost roughly. And Piper couldn’t decide which way she loved the most.

 

/

 

Alex was looking forward to spending a quiet afternoon with Piper, enjoying a game of cards with her or just anything that involved her spending time with the blonde. She was beginning to like this simplicity and had not felt restless in days. Had she found the kind of life that she’d been searching for? She shook her head when she heard voices from outside, and when she came out of her office, she saw John’s distressed face followed by Miss Claudette’s. Alex raised her brows at them, questioning what was the matter.

 

 “Nikki and a few of your friends from the city are here,” John announced. “And I also saw..” John noticed that the brunette’s look darkened immediately, so he didn’t continue what he had been planning to say. He and other trusted and loyal confidants knew that Alex didn’t want any visitors these days.

 

“Who?! Who did you see?”

 

“I saw Larry with Nikki getting out of the car, and I think they’re already outside the patio right now.” That’s where guests would usually go to see the property and enjoy the view of the beach. Like Alex, Larry and Nikki both knew each other’s families too. The three of them came from the same social circle along with most of the friends also here with them.

 

Alex couldn’t blame either John or Miss Claudette for this unforeseen happening, so she just sighed and told Miss Claudette to prepare some refreshments for their guests and instructed John to tell her friends that she’d be out in a while.

 

Her mind wasn’t on deciding what clothes she was putting on but rather on the blonde who was currently on her room waiting for the brunette to tell her that she was ready for the afternoon that they had planned. Alex was also worried what Piper would think when she knew that her friends were here and Nikki, oh Nikki... What would she think of Piper? She’d seen how territorial and vicious Nikki can be when she felt threatened by other girls. Alex wasn’t worried about her blonde though, because the brunette had seen firsthand that Piper could handle herself, and that thought made her smile.

 

“ _Your blonde?! Is she yours?_ ”

 

Alex felt a cloud of melancholy sweep over her with that thought because deep inside she didn’t really know whether Piper liked her. Well, Alex didn’t understand what she felt either because she hadn’t stopped to analyze things, fearing that she’d only make herself disappointed. Whenever she felt that disappointment might be imminent, Alex’s instinct was to back away and close off. But what if Piper just feels like she has to do this with her, for lack of other options? The brunette had told the blonde that she can leave if she really wanted, but she’s still here, right? The way she was in bed, when Piper cried out for her, didn’t that say something that maybe Piper could like her too?

 

Alex left her room after twenty minutes, thinking she couldn’t go through that right now, knowing she had guests waiting for her outside.

 

Alex sent Maria to inform Piper that they had guests and that Alex would be happy if she would join them. Maria told her that they were Miss’s friends from the city, and Piper just managed a small ‘oh’ in response. Piper had gotten so used to living in a bubble here with only them that she had forgotten how it was to be with other people. Furthermore, these were Alex’s friends. What would they be like? Piper wondered. Would they suspect that there was something going on between her and their friend?

 

Piper decided that she would face them by being her best self, just like how she would when she faced executives while pitching ideas for products in her previous work before.

_To be continued..._

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> please leave reviews. it helps me write. thanks! enjoy

“Good morning, Piper,” greets Miss Claudette through the open bathroom door, beaming brightly.

Piper rolls over in her bed, the memory of last night washing over her again as she remembers everything Larry had told her. Instantly, she feels a little sad remembering how she had waited for Alex, hoping that the brunette would change her mind and join her. Last night was the first night in more than a month that the two women had slept in separate beds. The night had started out so promising for the two of them, with Alex being so sweet and attentive, not leaving her side the whole night. Why did Larry have to swoop in on her like that, was he drunk? How can she be sure that anything he had said is true? Piper will find out, but first she can’t wait to know the whereabouts of Alex or how is she after last night. Piper knows how sensitive the brunette can be. Alex must have assumed that something had been happening between Piper and Larry because Larry had been holding her and they had been talking very closely together. Even so, Piper can’t brush off the tiny hint of happiness she feels when she realizes that Alex must have been jealous, but at the same time, the blonde doesn’t want to tip the boat, not now when she can already feel the brunette slowly opening to her.

Sometimes Piper sees her hostess like those animals at the rescue center, animals that have been treated badly and are consequently very reluctant to be touched. Alex is so evasive that Piper needs to be careful with her. The blonde doesn’t want to do anything that would disrupt the development of their relationship. Aside from being lovers, Piper can see how Alex can be a really good friend, knowing how thoughtful and caring Alex has been before, when the brunette thinks that no one is noticing. Piper had seen all of this in the previous month like that one time when she’d overheard Alex giving instructions to one of the maids, detailing how she wants Piper’s favourite fruit to be ready every time when the blonde eats her breakfast. There had also been this other time when Piper had overheard Alex telling Miss Claudette to ask Piper if she would have liked to have a warm bath after the brunette had learned that Piper was tired while helping in the garden that day. When Alex turned, she saw Piper smiling and realized that the blonde must have heard everything she’d just said. The brunette had simply walked back to her office as if nothing had happened. Again, Piper is catching all these bits and pieces of the brunette’s character and can’t stop herself from liking all of it.

Having been roused awake by the old woman, Piper greets her back. “Good morning...What time is it?”

“Ten o’clock,” Miss Claudette answers. “Would you like to have breakfast now?” she asks glancing at the wicker basket where Piper has been depositing her used clothes.

“Don’t bother getting that, Miss Claudette. I will do my own laundry,” Piper smiles at her.

“Ok, freshen up now, so you can have your breakfast. There are leftovers for you in the kitchen.”

“Is Alex up yet? I will get ready now, so we can have breakfast.”

“Alex already did. She’s in her office right now.  Her friends left an hour ago since some of them had work to be back to.”

Piper can’t help but feel a little disappointed learning that Alex didn’t ask for her to be woken up for breakfast. The brunette had said that she always wanted the two of them to eat together.

“Oh. Uhmm.. okay, I’ll be out in a awhile then. Thanks, Miss Claudette,” Piper responds, smiling at the old lady who then exits her bedroom.

Once Miss Claudette is gone, Piper rolls onto her stomach and buries her face into one of the pillows, Alex still clouding her mind. The blonde had seen her with her friends last night. Although all of them clearly knew each other quite well, Piper had observed how Alex’s friends looked at the brunette. Piper could see how some of them would follow the brunette’s every moves from the corners of their eyes like they were intimidated or in awe of her. Alex can be cold and has this air of cynicism and sometimes exudes the sense that she is unapproachable. But Piper’s thoughts turn differently because she misses the brunette’s presence and wonders how stunned Alex’s friends would be if they only knew what a tender, passionate, and stormy lover the woman is in bed. Or perhaps that’s not a secret after all, Piper thinks and smiles at the memory of their lovemaking but wavers a little when she remembers Nikki... The blonde had seen how Nikki looks at Alex and knows right away how much the curly-haired  woman wants the brunette. Does Alex touch Nikki in the way she’s been touching Piper?

Piper pushes those lowering thoughts from her mind as she dozes off to sleep again.

It is nearly noon when Piper awakens with a start. After quickly getting dressed, the blonde leaves her room and heads straight to the kitchen, hoping that she’s not late for lunch because she is eager to see Alex. But Miss Claudette informs her that Alex wants to have her meal in her office, and the old woman goes on a little about how the brunette works so hard.

After taking her lunch, Piper walks out to the main hallway and sees Alex standing with her back to her, talking to someone over the phone about business. When the brunette finishes, she turns and is startled to see Piper standing there.

“Hi,” Piper greets the brunette brightly. “Did you have lunch already? If you haven’t yet, I can accompany you.” It takes a lot for Piper to say that on her own. It has always been the brunette who would ask Piper for her company, making the blonde blush.

But Alex only stares blankly in her direction and says, “I’m sorry, Piper. I’m busy.”

Feeling rather like a bothersome child who has just been firmly, but politely, put in her place, Piper hesitantly asks, “Alex, why do you work so hard?”

“I enjoy working,” Alex answers coolly and immediately starts walking towards her office.

Obviously the brunette enjoys her work more than her company, Piper realizes, since Alex certainly doesn’t need money. “I’m sorry for interrupting you,” Piper says quietly. “You can go back to your work now.”

As Piper leaves, Alex starts to call out to her, wanting to say that she’s changed her mind, but then she checks the impulse and goes back inside her office and sits back down at her desk. Alex wants so much to eat with the blonde, but she decided last night after seeing Piper with Larry that it wouldn’t be wise anymore for her and Piper to continue spending so much time together like they’d been doing over the previous month. If the blonde likes Larry, Alex won’t stop her. She’s been a fool for thinking that Piper had been beginning to like her. Obviously the blonde is only interested in winning the bet. Alex wants to let Piper be a pleasant part her life, that she can do, but she can’t make the mistake of letting her become the center of it. That much power over her Alex would not give to anyone.

/

It’s now the second day that Alex has left Piper to be on her own. The brunette has purposely either been in her office or some other place involving work and requiring her attention, not joining Piper for meals and not even showing the blonde her presence.

Piper decides to spend time at the stable today and helps to feed and groom the horses. She gets on one of the restless horses and decides to visit the small lake she’d seen before on Alex’s property.

As she reaches the clearing, Piper snaps the reins when she feels the high-spirited horse moving around and tries to get the horse to calm down so she can go down and tie it around the tree while she enjoys the view. After a few minutes of sitting on the grass enjoying the fresh wind on her face, bathing at the glow of the sun while her eyes are closed, Piper hears footsteps coming towards her, and she almost gasps from fright when she sees John approaching.

John knows that something has gone awry between the two women because his mistress/long time friend is back to her old self, sulking inside her office and calling him from time-to-time to tell him to check on Piper’s whereabouts. It’s after one of these very requests that had John noticing that it’d been awhile since he’d spied Piper leaving the stables earlier on one of the horses. So he’d taken it upon himself to go after the blonde, knowing Alex would scold him if he lets Piper out of his sight. In all honesty, John was beginning to develop a liking for the blonde. Although the two of them never talk that much, he clearly sees the effect that she has on Alex.

“What are you doing here, Piper?” John asks calmly as he stops to sit on one of the big rocks beside the tree where Piper is sitting.

“Swimming,” Piper tries to joke, pointing her head to the lake.

“In those clothes or were you planning to swim naked? I don’t think Alex would like that.”

“I’m not at all concerned with what Alex might think,” Piper answered, unable to keep the rebellious note out of her voice. After having thought about her situation with Alex, Piper feels a little irritated at how Alex has abandoned her when the blonde is her guest.

“Is that sensible?” John shoots her an odd look.

“If I were sensible I would have headed home awhile ago, seeing how it might rain.” Piper smiles wanly at John, trying to hide her misery over her abortive effort to brighten her life.

Piper looks away while John does the same and lights a cigarette as he inhales and blows the smoke out smoothly.

“Why didn’t you?” John asks finally.

“Why didn’t I do what?”

“Go back home?”

“I needed, wanted, I mean.. to get away.. to get out of the house for awhile,” Piper answers, paying unnecessary attention to her fingers.

“I’m surprised Alex didn’t insist that you stay home?”

“I didn’t think it was necessary to ask for her permission,” Piper replies, feeling conscious of John’s searching questions and intent gaze.

“She must be worried sick about you now,” John comments, trying to gauge what is really going on between the two.

“I doubt that she’s even discovered that I’m gone.” Or that she would care, even if she knew, Piper thought miserably.

“Why did you agree to the bet?” John asks suddenly.

Piper is surprised by his question. It’s like he’s inspecting her.  She feels as though John is trying to measure her, and she feels liked a trapped rabbit - a feeling that she is beginning to experience more often and which is beginning to grate on her terribly. The blonde raises her head and regards John with ill-concealed resentment.

“I agreed to it for the usual reason,” Piper replies evasively.

“So it’s all about the money,” John says with disgust.

This unprovoked attack is too much for Piper to handle. Tears of fury spring to her eyes as she stands and tries to leave.

“I won’t stay here as you try to insult me.”

“Why not?” he bit out. “Isn’t it true?”

“I don’t care what you think of me!” Piper’s voice cracks. “Will you please step out of my way!”

“Why don’t you just leave and take the money.” John knows that Alex isn’t free from blame here, but he sees how Piper can help the brunette with how greatly she influences Alex’s mood and well-being, so if the blonde’s not here for that, she should just leave.

“Get out of my way, please...”

“Not until I understand how I could have misjudged you so much. I thought you were wonderful. I saw the laughter in your eyes when you talked, and I saw how you were with other people - with the servants, how well you treated them. I thought to myself that you were a real woman - one with heart and spirit, not some mercenary coward!”

“Leave me alone, damn you!” Piper demands brokenly and tries to shove John away.

Amazingly, his arms wrap around her, hauling her against his broad chest. “Cry, Piper. Get it all out. If you try to hold this all inside, you will shatter.”

Piper has learned to deal with tragedy and adversity. She has forgotten, however, how to cope with kindness and understanding. The tears come rushing down, and when she finishes, Piper feels better than she has been these past two days.

“So...” John says with a slight admiring smile, knowing right now how the blonde truly feels for his mistress and friend. “Despite the fact that Alex’s way of coaxing you to stay on the island happened with that unemotional proposal of a bet... Despite the fact that you actually knew nothing about her, and despite what she’d done to you, you still thought of staying, maybe even thought that she unknowingly needs you?”

Piper self-consciously wipes her eyes and nods sheepishly. “Obviously, I was foolish and fanciful to think so, but there were times when I looked at Alex, and she seemed so alone, and at times when I saw her in a crowd, surrounded by people, I would still have this queer feeling that she felt as lonely as I did. And I felt that she needed me too. But, obviously, I was wrong. Alex wants nothing more than just a lover. It’s as simple as that. She doesn’t need me.”

“You’re wrong,” John says with a gentle finality.

“Alex has needed a woman like you since the day she was born. She needs you to heal wounds that are too deep, to teach her how to let herself love and be loved in return. If you knew about her, you’d understand why I say that.” John gets up and pulls a flask out of his pocket.

“Will you tell me about her...?”

“Yes. But haven’t you asked Alex to already?”

“She won’t tell me. I asked her once, but she told me that she’s trying to learn to say what she thinks and feels but admitted that she isn’t accustomed to baring her soul yet. She said we’d have to ease into that someday.”

“My God,” John utters in amazement, staring at the blonde. “Alex said all that? She said she was willing to bare her soul to you someday? She must care more for you than I ever imagined.”

“It’s become a mystery I have to solve,” Piper confesses in response.

“Because you’re falling in love with her?”

“Because I’m frightfully, inexcusably curious,” Piper answers. When John appears to refuse to believe her, the blonde sighs miserably. “Yes. I guess there’s no use denying it anymore, even I have a hard time admitting it to myself. But I’m afraid to fall in love with a stranger, and she’s in no hurry to let me know her.”

“Ok. I’m going to tell you things about Alex that only I know, things she obviously doesn’t want you to know yet or else she would have told you. By telling you these things, I’m betraying her trust and until this moment, I was one of the few people close to her who had never betrayed her in some way or another. Alex is like a sister to me, Piper, so it hurts me to do this, but I feel that it is imperative that you understand her.”

Piper slowly shakes her head. “Maybe you shouldn’t tell me anything, John. Alex and I are on the outs most of the time, and I would not like to see either of you hurt by the things you might tell me.”

A smile flickers briefly across John’s grim features. “If I thought you might use what I tell you as a weapon against her, I’d keep my silence. But you won’t do that. There’s a gentle strength about you, a compassion and understanding that I’ve witnessed when you are with Alex and the people in the house. I’ve watched you laugh with them and put them to ease, and I thought then that you were a wonderful woman and perfect for Alex. I didn’t understand why Alex was so drawn into you, and maybe she doesn’t understand it herself either, but as I watched you every day, I started to understand.”

“My family worked for Alex’s family, so I’ve seen her grow up. While I was climbing trees and wrestling in the dirt, Alex was required to be clean, neat, punctual, solemn, and aware of how to conduct herself properly at all times. She wasn’t allowed to associate with us but, she would always find a way to play with me and snuck out food for me and the other children. I used to wonder how she could bear the loneliness.” John paused for a moment and sighed before continuing.

“Alex’s mother was a notorious flirt infamous for her amorous exploits. And maybe that’s why her father hated Alex so much because she reminds him of her mother. He was always very rigid when it came to Alex. He never let up on her. He wanted her to always be smarter, braver, and better, and the harder Alex tried to please her father, the more demanding he became.”

“Alex was home schooled, and when she did poorly in a lesson, her father would use a cane on her. If she didn’t appear for supper on the dot at eight - not a minute before or a minute after - she wasn’t allowed to eat until the following night. When Alex was eight, her horse refused to jump a ledge, and her father taunted her, telling her that she was a coward in front of other people looking on, and then he made her take the jump.”

“Was she able to do it?” Piper asks in a suffocated voice.

“She did, three times.” John answers dryly. “On the fourth, her horse stumbled, and when it fell, it rolled on Alex and broke her arm.”

Piper pales, remembering Alex trying to save her when she had planned to get her revenge against Alex. Now she feels bad, easily imagining how Alex must have felt back then.

“Alex didn’t cry of course. She wasn’t permitted to cry, not even as a little girl. According to her father, tears were a sign of weakness. He had very rigid ideas about things like that.”

“What sort of ideas?” Piper asks, blinking the tears at the back of her eyes.

“Any emotion that was soft should be hidden. Sentimentality was soft, so was love and genuine affection. I don’t think I ever saw the man laugh, not a real, genuine laugh that sprang from mirth rather than sarcasm. That’s why you will rarely see Alex laugh.”

“I made her laugh,” Piper says with a mixture of pride and sadness.

John grins. “That smile of yours would lighten any man’s heart.”

“But the worst was when I saw Alex’s father very drunk one night. She was eleven at the time, and he dragged her outside the house, screaming and pointing at her, insisting that she was the devil and shrieked that she was the ‘seed of lust’ and the product of the evil. He screamed at her to get down on her knees and ask for forgiveness. She looked him straight in the eyes, not saying anything, not moving, and he struck her across the face. Alex went down, and he kept shouting, _pray, for forgiveness_ , he screamed at her. She said nothing. She just looked straight ahead, and it was then that I saw her eyes.. Her eyes were dry. There wasn’t a single tear in them. But there was pain there.. God, they were filled with such pain!”

Piper shudders in pity over how hideous the story is.

“That was the night her mother ran away and told her father that Alex was not his child.”

“No...” Piper cries in anguish as she covers her mouth.

“Alex prayed then... She clasped her hands together and prayed over and over again while he kept shouting at her. She endured a lot more as she was growing up, but we’ll need a longer time for that.”

Hearing John end his retelling of Alex’s childhood, Piper wraps her arms around herself and closes her eyes, trying to blot out the image of a little girl with long, thick black hair and familiar hazel eyes being subjected to such a demented act.

“John,” Piper says, wanting just to see and take Alex into her arms after learning all of this. “I would like to go home now. It’s getting late, and Alex may be worried about me.”

The sorrow vanishes from John’s face, and a smile breaks across his rugged features. “An excellent idea,” he agrees. “But before you go, I want to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t let Alex fool you or herself into believing that she wants nothing from you but to win a stupid bet. I know her better than anyone else, and I’ve seen the way she is with you. She’s already more than half in love with you, though I doubt she wants to be.”

“I can’t blame her for being like that,” Piper begins sadly. “I can’t imagine how anyone could survive all that’s happened to her and stay sane.”

“She’s strong,” John replied. “Alex is the strongest human being I’ve ever known. Let yourself love her, Piper, I know you want to. And teach her how to love you. She has a great deal of love to give, but first, she needs to learn to trust you. Once she trusts you, she’ll lay the world at your feet.”

“What makes you certain this will all work out the way you think it will?”

John’s voice is soft when he answers. “Alex is different. She will love only once... but it will be for always.”

/

When Piper returns to the main property, entering from the back, she can hear Alex’s raised voice coming from the front of the house and raging at Maria.

“Stop that damned crying! Next time when Piper leaves, ask her where she is going! I told you to look after her, I asked you to do one thing! And you can’t do it right! It’s almost dinner time now, and she’s not yet back! What if she left _me_ already!”

The maid wrings her hands desperately. “She only said that she will be down at the stables, and I didn’t think that she would take long.”

Piper’s heart aches with remorse for not having left a word. Alex thinks that she’s left her, and for someone as proud as she is, Alex would never admit such a thing to a servant.

Summoning up her strength, Piper steps in. “I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t leave you just like that.”

Alex whirls around violently at the novel sound of Piper’s voice. Alex eyes blaze with relief - a relief that is instantly replaced by fury. “Where the hell have you been?!”

All the servants disappear when they see their mistress get very angry at her guest. Piper takes pity on the mortified look on their faces.

“Did I not tell you that you can’t leave the house without telling anyone where you’re going?! You’re such an idiot! I was about to turn the whole property upside down to search for you!”

Piper looks at Alex’s gorgeous face - her stern, sensual mouth, and hard jaw - but what she sees is a helpless little girl with long, thick black hair being screamed at to kneel down and ask for forgiveness for a sin she didn’t commit. A lump of poignant tenderness swells in Piper’s throat, and she unthinkingly whispers softly, “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?!” Alex mocks her scathingly. “Sorry for what?! Sorry for the servants who I shouted at, blaming them for being incompetent with their jobs when clearly it was your fault because you didn’t follow my orders?!”

“I’m sorry you thought I was leaving you,” Piper interrupts shakily. “I would never do that.”

“Alex..” she begins softly.

“Oh, please! I’m not used to you being this way, saying sorry and not fighting with me. And please don’t grovel. I despise grovelling,” Alex snaps.

“I was not grovelling!” Piper says, and in her mind, she sees Alex being caned for making a mistake in her studies. Piper has to clear the tears from her throat before she can go on.

“What I wanted to say is, I’m sorry I worried you, and I won’t do it again.”

Alex stares long and hard at Piper, the anger draining out of her. Maybe the blonde really is that tired of being here with her. Maybe Piper can’t wait to get out of here. And with that last thought, Alex feels her stomach dropping down to the floor.

“You’re free to do whatever you want to do. If you want to leave the island, you can.” Alex says wearily.

Piper hesitates, knowing that there isn’t anything she could say that would change the brunette’s mind, and finally excuses herself to go to her room.

**Chapter 14 will follow very shortly. I hope you enjoyed this one! I think I should write a very long and detailed love scene after someone hits Alex on the head for being so blind! Hehe.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave a review on what you thought of this chapter. thank you. enjoy!

Alex again did not join her that night or for the next two. In fact, Alex went out of her way to completely avoid her. The brunette worked in her office as usual and met with men who came from the city to talk to her about investments and shipping and all sorts of business transactions. If Alex encountered Piper when they passed each other in the halls, she would greet her politely but without familiarity as if she were a stranger to her. Piper was determined to show Alex that she will not leave and she will be there for her even though she knew that was not an easy task to accomplish.  
Alex had been away most of the time and when she finished working, she would go into her room, change her clothes and leave for the city or God knows where During these days, Piper kept herself busy by spending time helping the servants, even spending time with their families. She had asked them to bring their kids over so she could spend time with the children. She organized games for them and even taught them some things they can learn in school.  
They did this under a tree just at the back of the stables. But no matter how busy she kept herself, she still missed Alex very much.  
Piper wondered what Alex did during the long nights that she was gone in the city. On the fifth night, Alex didn’t bother coming home at all. The next morning at breakfast she had overheard Miss Claudette and John talking about the Miss on her whereabouts and John told the old lady that he accompanied Alex to see Nikki and that’s how Piper discovered what Alex had been doing all the time she was gone. She had not been away because of business matters or meeting with clients but because of something else. Jealousy bloomed in Piper, full bodied, frustrated, sick jealousy. It caught her completely off guard, for she had never experienced the bitter agony of it before.  
Alex chose that untimely moment to stroll into the dining room wearing the same clothes she had left for the city the night before. The brunette nodded distantly to her as she went over to the sideboard and helped herself to a cup of steaming black coffee.  
Piper slowly arose from her chair, trembling with hurt. “Alex” she said, her voice very cool and stiff.  
“Yes?” she said, lifting her cup to her lips and watching her over its rim.  
“Do you remember when you got very angry over Larry and admitted that you were jealous?”  
The coffee cup lowered a bit but Aex’s face remained impassive. “Perfectly.”  
“I would like you to know that I feel that right now.”  
Amazed and a little impressed with the blonde’s bravery for finding the strength to call her out right now even if she has gone to great lengths just to appear indifferent to her, Alex asked. “Why?”  
“Because I care what you do!” Piper bursts out because she couldn’t stop herself. “I understand perfectly what we are to each other but you can’t expect to touch me the way you have and expect me not to feel anything! And not feel hurt when you discard me and hear that you have been away most nights to see someone else!” She strode off of the room, feeling like an undesirable, cast off shoe.  
Piper looked so beautiful, with her long blonde hair swaying at her back, her body moving with conscious grace. Alex watched her in silence, the coffee cup forgotten in her hand. She felt the familiar hot need rising inside her, the longing she had felt for months to gather Piper into her arms and lose herself in her. But she didn’t move toward her. Why would she be jealous? Is it because of pride that she feels this way? How dare the blonde feel pride over her when she saw how intimate she was talking to Larry at the party. She doesn’t even care anymore how Piper knew that she went to see Nikki and how wrong is she to think that Alex still desired Nikki. She just went there to get her things because Nikki has been calling a few times to get her to come to her house but she didn’t spend the night. Alex went to gamble with her friends at the Metro just to keep her mind away from the blonde. But even for a tiny bit she would like to fool herself that Piper was jealous because she felt something for her and with this, Alex decided to change her plans that night.  
Piper on the other hand felt so stupid for bursting that way but she doesn’t care anymore. She’s tired of restraining herself and if John was right, she would find a way for Alex to open up to her too.  
/  
Piper was surprised that night when Alex strolled into the dining room at eight in the evening to join her for dinner.  
“You’re staying home tonight?” she burst out in amazed relief as the brunette sat down at the head of the table.  
“Yes.” She just wants the blonde’s company. To be with her even if she’s just fooling herself. Let me just get myself drunk, get drunk off your presence, just for a little bit.And she’s tired of always going out too.  
After the servants finished placing their meal on the table, they withdrew and left them to dine. Heavy silence hung over the entire meal, only the occasional clink of the spoon against the plates are the sounds you can hear in the room. By the time the plates were being cleared away and dessert brought in, Piper’s misery had turned to desperation. Twice she had tried to break through the barrier of silence by commenting on topics such as the weather and the excellence of the meal. Alex’s replies to these were polite but uncouragingly brief.  
Piper fidgeted with her spoon, knowing she had to do something and quickly, because the gap between them was widening with every moment, growing deeper with every day, until soon there would be no way to bridge it.  
And for the third time when Alex was giving her a bland reply, Piper couldn’t take it anymore and said. “Alex..please. I want things to be different between us.”  
Alex looked at her as she leaned back in her chair. “What do you want?”  
The brunette’s manner was so distant and unconcerned that Piper’s nervousness doubled. “Well I’d like us to be friends. We used to laugh together and talk about things.”  
“Talk away.” Alex invited.  
“Is there anything in particular you’d like to talk about?” Piper asked earnestly.  
Alex’s eyes moved over Piper’s intoxicating features. She thought, I want to talk about why you’re still here with me even if I said you could leave. I want to ask you why you were talking so close with Larry that you were almost kissing. Do you want to kiss him? I want to ask you if you find my touch sickening. She said. “Nothing in particular.”  
“Very well then, I’ll start.” Piper hesitated and then thought of her dress. It’s the first time she had worn this color and it always amazes her how Alex knew how every clothes she bought would fit Piper perfectly. “Do you like my dress? It fits me perfectly don’t you think?”  
Alex’s gaze dropped to the creamy flesh that was showing above the green blouse. Piper looked ravishing in green, Alex thought. If things were different, she would have dismissed the servants and pulled the blonde onto her lap and then she would have unfastened her blouse, exposing her perky breasts to her lips and hands. She would have kissed each one, then take Piper to her room and made love to her until they were both too weak to move.  
“The dress is fine.”  
“I think you look very nice too.” Piper said. The brunette’s face was tanned and her cheeks were rosy, her hair so dark and long and she looked so captivating. “You’re very beautiful.”  
“Thank you.” A glimmer of a startled smile appeared on the brunette’s lips.  
“You’re welcome.” Piper replied.  
Alex cant’ take much of this anymore and she stood up abruptly. “I’m sorry, If you don’t mind, I think I’ll spend the evening doing some work.”  
“No.” Piper said hastily, also standing up. “Please don’t work. Let’s do something else, something we always do together. Something you’d like.”  
Alex’s heart slammed into her ribs. She gazed down at Piper’s flushed cheeks and saw the invitation in the blonde’s imploring blue eyes. Hope and disbelief collided in her chest, exploding, as she laid her hand tenderly against Piper’s flushed cheek, slowly running it back, smoothing her blonde hair.  
Piper trembled with pleasure because Alex was finally treating her with warmth. She should have tried to draw the brunette out days ago rather than suffering in silence. “We could play chess if you like” She said happily. “Or cards, whichever you like.”  
Alex’s hand jerked away from her and her face became a closed mask. She was wrong to assume Piper wants her as much as she wants her. “Excuse me, Piper. I have work to do.” She moved around the blonde and disappeared into her office where she remained for the rest of the evening.  
Piper’s heart sank with confused disappointment, and she spent the whole evening trying to read. By bedtime she was absolutely resolved not to let the brunette fall back into their former pattern of being polite strangers, no matter what it took to change things. Even if she had to seduce the brunette to do it.  
The next day, Piper with great determination went into the house and asked Miss Claudette “Is Alex home?”  
“Yes, Piper.” Miss Claudette answered while kneading the dough she’ll use to bake. “She’s in the library.”  
“Is she alone?”  
“She is.” Miss Claudette answered again.  
Piper thanked the old lady and went down the hall to the small library they have in the house. She opened the door and quietly slipped inside. Alex was standing infront of a table at the opposite end of the room, her profile turned to her, while she’s studying something from a book. Piper looked at her, at the little girl who had risen from that awful childhood, grown into this kind of woman, wealthy and powerful. Housing a woman from the syndicate, managing and making a fortune at the same time. And she was still alone. Still working, still trying.  
I love you. Piper thought, and the uninvited thought nearly sent her to her knees. She has been in a relationship before but why hadn’t she felt this driving desperation to make them happy? She loves Alex, despite her warnings to herself, despite Alex’s nature.  
She crossed the room, her footstep silenced by the thick carpet and went to stand just behind the brunette. “Why do you work so hard?” she asked softly.  
Alex jumped at the sound of Piper’s voice but did not turn around. “I enjoy working.” She said shortly. “Is there something you want? I’m very busy.”  
It was not an encouraging start and for a split second Piper actually considered saying very bluntly that she misses the brunette so much, she misses her touch. But the truth was she was not that bold and she’s eager to have the brunette this cold as well.  
Hoping to improve Alex’s spirits, she said softly. “You must get terrible backaches from working all day. Would you like me to rub your shoulders?”  
Alex’s body stiffened as Piper moved closer to her. When Alex tried to ignore her and sat on one of the chairs and pretended to write something, Piper perched on the side of the table beside where Alex was sitting.  
Piper’s leg was beside her hand, swinging slightly as she read one of the books that’s on the table. Against her will, Alex’s eyes moved upward over her breast, riveting on the inviting curve of Piper’s lips. The blonde has a mouth that begged to be kissed, and her eyelashes were so long they cast shadows on her cheeks. “Get off the table and get out of here.” Alex snapped.  
“Ok,” Piper said while standing up. “What would you like for dinner?”  
You, Alex thought. “It doesn’t matter.” She said.  
“In that case, is there anything special you’d like for dessert?”  
The same thing I want for dinner, Alex thought. “No.” She said, fighting down the clamouring demands of her body.  
At dinner time, Piper walked into the dining room wearing a rather sexy outfit that clung to her every curve. Alex’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Did I buy that?”  
Pier saw the brunette’s gaze rivet on the daring outfit and smiled. “Of course you did, I don’t have any money  
“Don’t ever wear that outside of the house.”  
“Why? I thought you’d like it.” Piper said with a chuckle. She decided to use a different tactic on the brunette, if she can’t elicit a reaction from her by asking, she will do it by seducing her.  
“I’d like to go to the town tomorrow” Piper said, walking toward Alex and stopped very close to her. “Will you go with me?”  
“I have a meeting here, and the next day too. I can’t spare the time.” Alex said shortly.  
“Alex...” Piper said softly, reaching out to touch the brunette’s hand.  
Alex shot up out of her chair, looming over Piper. “If you need money to use in the town, just say so! But stop acting like a flirt or I’ll treat you like one!”  
Piper stared at the brunette in humiliated fury. “For your information I would rather be a cheap flirt than be a complete, blind fool like you, who mistakes every gesture someone makes and leaps to all the wrong conclusions!”  
Alex glared at her. “Just exactly what is that supposed to mean?”  
Piper almost stamped her foot in frustrated wrath. “You figure it out! You’re very good at figuring me out, except you’re always wrong! You can dine alone tonight and make the servants miserable instead of me. Tomorrow I am going to town without you” With that Piper swept out of the room, leaving Alex staring after her, her brows drawn together in bafflement.  
/  
Piper left for the town the next morning very early with one of John’s men and went back to the house very late that night.  
When Piper entered the kitchen, the servants were all busy clearing the plates that were used for dinner.  
“Alex is in her office.” Maria advised Piper when she looked at her.  
“Does she want to see me?” Piper asked puzzled at Maria’s voluntary information.  
“I don’t know but she has....er.. been inquiring whether you’re home already.”  
Piper assumed that Maria has been called up on the firing line again by Alex.  
“How many times has she inquired?” she asked.  
“Three.” Maria replied. “In the last hour.”  
“I see.” Piper said with an understanding smile but she felt absurdly pleased to know Alex had thought about her.  
As she walked out to go to her room, she met Alex outside of the lawn. The brunette looked so breathtakingly gorgeous that Piper’s mouth went dry but Alex’s face was perfectly composed. “You didn’t come home for supper.”  
“No.” Piper answered, trying to match her casual tone.  
“Why not?”  
Piper gave Alex an innocent look and gave her an answer which she wished would give her the reaction she wanted. “I enjoy the company of other people, just as you enjoy working.” Unfortunately, her composure slipped a notch and she added a little nervously. “I didn’t think you’d mind if I wasn’t here.”  
“I didn’t mind at all.” Alex said.  
Piper felt awful when she awoke the next morning and Alex walked in while she was having breakfast and suggested. “If you’re lonely for company, maybe you should go into town for a day or two.”  
Despair shot through her but stubborn pride came to her rescue and she pinned a bright smile on her face. “What a lovely idea, Alex. I think I’ll do that. Thank you for suggesting it.”  
/  
Piper went to town every single day; money wasn’t a problem because the man who was with her would instantly offer to pay if she wanted something.  
Perhaps he was already instructed to pay for everything she would need. She left the house every single day for four days, coming home late at night. She didn’t bother showing to dinner because she bought some food and ate already. She went to watch a movie in one of the old theatres in the small town, she went into the town’s carnival. Every day she tried to distract herself hoping against hope that Alex might notice her absence.  
After the fourth night of not seeing Alex, Piper went directly to her room to retire.  
Piper woke up with a loud slamming of her door and when she looked at the clock it was already thirty minutes after two in the morning. She was about to turn on the lights when some movements caught her attention. Afraid of who the intruder could be, she stood and moved quietly to the door and screamed when she saw who it was “Alex! I thought you were someone else!”  
When the brunette answered, Piper noticed that she was drunk. “What were you going to do if I was an intruder? Wrestle me?”  
Piper noticed the glitter in the brunette’s eyes and when she turned on the light she realized automatically that there was a burning anger in it. She began backing away as Alex moved forward, towering over her.  
“Alex, are you angry?” her voice quivering.  
Alex stopped a few inches from her and drawled in an awful voice. “Where the hell have you been?”  
“Into town.”  
“Until dawn?!” Alex sneered.  
“No, I came home awhile ago.”  
“Do you even know how to count!?”  
“Count?” Piper repeated. “count what?”  
“Count days,” Alex clarified acidly. “I gave you permission to go into town for two days, not four!”  
“I didn’t feel the need to ask your permission.” Piper bursts out. “And don’t pretend you care if I’m gone or not.”  
“I do care!” Alex shouted and moved closer to her. She forcefully took her into her arms and tried to kiss her.  
“What’s wrong?!” Piper pleaded as she tries to push Alex away from her.  
“What’s wrong?” Alex repeated scathingly. “I’m jealous, Piper!” Her hands encircling her waist as she tried to touch the blonde everywhere. “I’m jealous and I find the feeling very unpleasant.”  
Under different circumstance, Piper would have been overjoyed at this admission of jealousy but not at this moment.  
Alex tried to kiss her roughly. Her mouth came down on Piper in a hard, punishing kiss and she clamped her teeth together.  
“Kiss me, damn you!”  
Piper braced her hands tightly to get out of Alex’s grasp. “No! Not this way. I won’t let you!”  
“You will let me...”  
“ I hate you when you’re like this. Aren’t you capable of loving?! Are you really a cynical heartless devil?!”  
The words flew out of her before Piper realized what she had said.  
“You’re right.” Alex retreated and said. “That’s exactly what I am. I’m sorry if I have shattered any illusions you might have about me but the truth is, I’m a product of a meaningless affair. I am none of the good things you think I am.”  
“I’m not fit to touch you, I’ve done things that would make you sick.”  
John’s words sliced through Piper’s mind Her father made her kneel and made her beg for forgiveness and called her the devil. Piper looked at Alex’s proud face and she felt her heart would break. Now she understood why the brunette didn’t believe she was worthy to be loved or to love.  
“I love you.” Piper burst out, knowing whatever she said would now determine their future.  
For a moment Alex appeared shocked but said. “You don’t love me, you don’t even know me.”  
“Oh yes I do. John told me everything about you. I know what happened when you were a little girl...”  
Rage blazed in Alex’s eyes for a moment but then shrugged resignedly. “He had no right to tell you.”  
“Because you wouldn’t, you’re ashamed of the things you should be proudest of!” Piper cried, unable to control her voice or the tears streaming down her cheeks. “I wish he had not told me. Before he did, I only thought that I might be falling for you but afterward, when I realized how brave and how strong you are, I was sure that I love you.”  
“What?” Alex said in a ragged whisper.  
“I never admired you before that day.” Piper said hysterically. “And now I do and I can’t stand what you’re doing to---“  
Through a blur of tears she saw Alex move, felt herself crushed against her chest, and her pent up emotions broke loose. “I don’t care what you did, I don’t care who your parents are.” She sobbed in Alex’s arms.  
“Don’t cry, baby .” Alex whispered. “Please don’t”  
“I hate it when you treat me like that”  
“I won’t ever again..”  
“I hate it when you let me eat alone.”  
“I’m an ass. You will never ever eat any meals alone.” Alex said hugging her tighter.  
“...you tossed me aside.” Piper rambled  
“I need to be whipped for that.” Alex said, stroking her hair and rubbing her jaw against the top of her head.  
“You never tell me what you think or how you feel about things and I.. I can’t read your mind.”  
“I don’t have a mind.” Alex said harshly. “I lost it years ago when I first laid my eyes on you.”  
Piper knew she had won but the relief was so painfully exquisite that her slim shoulders began to shake with wrenching sobs.  
“Oh God, please don’t cry like this.” Alex groaned, running her hands over her heaving shoulders and down Piper’s back, desperately trying to console her. “I can’t take it when you cry.” Threading her hands through Piper’s blonde hair, Alex turned her face up to hers “I’ll never make you cry again.” The brunette whispered. “I swear I won’t” Alex bent her head and kissed Piper slowly. “Come to bed with me” Alex murmured, her voice raspy and urgent. “Come to bed with me and I wanna make you feel good. I wanna make you feel everything that I’m feeling right now, the way I know how.”  
Piper let herself be taken by the brunette and lowered gently down to the bed while Alex’s lips clung immediately to hers.  
Alex lifted herself off Piper to quickly tear her clothes off, while Piper watched unashamedly, looking at the brunette’s beautiful bodyand when she came back on top of her, Piper began kissing Alex immediately. After a long passionate kiss, Alex pulled away so she could look at Piper and absorb everything through the blonde’s eyes. “I love you,” Alex whispered agonizingly, plunging her hands into the blonde’s hair, “I love you so much..”  
Alex kissed Piper like it would sear into the blonde’s flesh, her mouth moved from the blonde’s lips to her neck and breasts, her hands sliding along Piper’s back and sides with an urgent need, making Piper moan and writhe beneath her. Alex raised her face above Piper’s, her voice hoarse with passion. “Please touch me, let me feel your hands.”  
Piper cupped Alex’s breast, slowly kneading it and it made the brunette’s breath hitch. She slid her hands lower, and felt Alex’s taut muscles in her abdomen jumped reflexively. She took Alex’s nipple into her mouth and sucked it, flicking her tongue back and forth against it and when she pulled it tightly into her mouth, a soft moan escaped from the brunette.  
Piper rolled Alex onto her back and brushed her parted lips over the brunette’s, plunging her tongue inside. Tasting the silky sweetness of Alex’s mouth that she missed so much.  
Alex felt like she was going to explode as she tasted the blonde’s tongue, making her tongue explore the inside ofPiper’s mouth, one hand cradling the back of the blonde’s head as she crushed her lips against hers while her free arm wrapped around Piper’s hips and moved her fully on top of her so their hot aroused centers would touch and feel how much they both want each other.  
Piper grinded her hips against Alex’s wet center, circling herself on her until she was faint with pleasure herself. She moved downward, trailing kisses along the brunette’s chest nuzzling her abdomen, until Alex’s hands suddenly tangled in her hair and pulled her face back to hers. Beneath her, she can feel Alex’s heart hammering against her breast. Alex gazed at her with desire raging in her eyes and humbly said, “I want you so much..”  
Feeling her heart would break with the love bursting in it, Piper answered Alex with a melting kiss once again. Alex gathered her tightly into her arms as she rolled Piper onto her back and showered kisses on her neck, gently sucking it at her pulse point. Every moan Alex heard from Piper added more wetness to her already soaked center. Alex slowly lifted Piper’s night gown off, leaving her in her underwear. Alex marveled at how perfect her body is, she placed her hands just below Piper’s ribcage and slowly moved it downward. Piper arched her body closer to Alex, loving where the brunette’s hands are headed. Alex took Piper’s breast fully into her mouth, sucking and familiarizing her mouth with Piper’s already erect nipples, teasing it with her tongue while her hand was slowly seeking entrance into the waistband of Piper’s underwear. Alex has to feel Piper’s wetness now but just above the triangle in between her legs, Alex stops herself and gazed upwards into Piper and stared into her eyes, the blue shades in it are very dark telling the brunette that the other woman also feels the desire that’s going inside her body. With blood pounding in her ears, Alex hastily peeled Piper’s underwear off her and she lifts her bottom off to help Alex in disregarding it. When Alex touched Piper’s wet folds she can’t help but groaned out loud, “God, you’re so sweet.” And quickly wet her lips to take Piper in her mouth once again. Alex rubbed Piper in between her legs over and over, circling her swollen clitwith her thumb while kissing her in the mouth at the same. Piper was moaning and writhing from the warm coil that’s building in her stomach. Alex slid one finger inside Piper, feeling like she’s going to die with how great the pleasure she’s having right now just seeing Piper in pure ecstasy.  
Piper tried to rip herself free from the intense pleasure she’s currently immersed into when she remembers Alex pleas earlier touch me. She reached her hand downward and slipped her hand to touch Alex too and almost came when she felt how wet the brunette was. They both rocked back and forth, plunging in and out of each other, slowly finding the rhythm as they both danced in pleasure of what the other can give. Alex breathing heavily into Piper’s neck, sucking and running her tongue in between it while Piper moves herself closer to Alex wanting to forge their bodies into one. Before reaching that high, Alex craved for something more as she pulled her finger out of Piper and said, “I want to taste your sweetness.” When she pulled her body downwards, Piper immediately missed the brunette’s finger inside her but not for long because what replaced it was something much greater. Piper felt her insides turned to a mass of liquid when she felt the brunette’s tongue lapping into her most intimate part.  
For Alex it’s the sweetest thing she has ever tasted, Piper’s juices running in her mouth as she ran her tongue into Piper’s folds, tracing that line until she reached her clit over and over again. Alex is perfectly sure she has found her new drug of choice. Alex circled her tongue into Piper’s clit and made the blonde buckle her hips into the brunette’s face closer, her stomach convulsing and Alex almost felt like she would come right then and there at the sight of Piper biting the back of her hand from too much pleasure. Alex plunged into Piper more and more, going in and out while stretching her arms under Piper’s legs so she can reach for the blonde’s breast and gently squeeze them.  
Alex placed one hand just below Piper’s stomach to keep it from trembling too much as her tongue kept toying with Piper’s sweet core and her other hand was kneading Piper’s breast. The blonde whispers from feeling like she was on overload from the different sensations the brunette was giving to her. “Alex...”  
“Tell me what you want...”  
“Please...” Piper moans as she licks her lips.  
Alex went back to licking her clit but this time puts one finger inside of her. “soo good..” Piper utters a whimper.  
Alex plunged her finger in and out of Piper while her mouth is busy sucking the blonde’s clit.  
After a few pumps, Alex can feel the blonde’s walls massaging around her fingers.  
“Almost...I’m almost..” But Piper didn’t get to finish what she was going to say because Alex added one more finger inside of her and she felt like she was going to die from too much pleasure that’s happening with her body right now. Her legs are shaking around Alex’s head and it made the brunette perform more, sucking the sweet nectar of Piper’s juices into her mouth, plunging in and out of her.  
Alex can feel Piper almost at coming with her muscles tightening around her fingers and after a few more pumps she convulses as she comes undone, leaping from that peak and jumping into the sweet oblivion of ecstasy Alex created for her.  
Piper falls limply into the bed and Alex marvels at how greatly the blonde looks after her orgasm. Alex slowly pulled her fingers out and heard the blonde gasp from the lost of contact.  
Piper stretched her hands and said weakly “Come here...” When Alex settled in her arms the blonde kissed her hungrily and thoroughly, awakening once again the desire that she felt.  
“I’m gonna make you feel what you’re capable of making me feel..” Piper said lovingly into the brunette’s eyes as she kisses her again, bringing her hands to cover the brunette’s breast. Teasing it, making it cry for her touch. Piper felt the need to share the intense passion that she had felt awhile ago with the brunette and she did so with much gusto and when Alex came, she felt a powerful shudder as she spasmed in fulfilment, as Piper plunged into her over and over again until the last time. Alex’s body jerked convulsively, shuddering again and again as Piper drew out from her a lifetime of bitterness and despair. The blonde drained her of everything and replaced it with all joy. It’s bursting inside her heart and it’s running through her every veins and she ached with all the pure bliss that it brought.  
After all her exploits, financial triumphs, and aimless sexual encounters, she had finally found what she was unconsciously looking for. She had found the place where she belonged. She owns a lot of property, a lot of things but she had never felt like she had a home. She was home now. This woman lying contentedly in her arms is her home.  
Still holding Piper, she moved onto her side, while combing her fingers through the blonde’s rumpled hair and brushed a tender kiss into her temple.  
Piper looked up and Alex felt like she would drown into the blonde’s deep blue pools. “How do you feel?” Piper asked smiling.  
To be continued....


	17. Chapter 17

“How do you feel?”  
With tender solemnity, Alex replied. “I feel happy.” The brunette can’t remember when she last felt this way. She feels so light and free. It’s a weird feeling because she’s not used to it; that there such a thing as this euphoric bliss that she’s currently floating in, but now that she’s had a taste of it, she will do everything in her power not to lose it.  
Bending her head, Alex took Piper’s sweet lips in a long, lingering kiss, then gazed down into her glowing blue eyes. “To think I actually believed there was no such thing.” Alex sighed, relaxing back against the pillows and revelling in the simple joy of having the blonde in her arms, Piper’s head resting on her shoulders. “I am stupid...”  
“You’re brilliant.” Piper declared.  
“No I’m not.” Alex chuckled. “If I had even the slightest intelligence, I would have treated you differently, told you how much you mean to me and treated you like the special person that you are because that’s the way it should be. No more, no less.”  
“When was the first time you wanted to do that?” Piper teased.  
Alex froze with Piper’s question. If she will tell her, she would have to reveal everything to her. She wants to. She wants to tell the blonde the truth, pour everything to her and trust her completely. Even offer herself to her.   
Alex can’t believe that she’s feeling all these but she is.   
But what if Piper would look at her differently if she knows, what if she leaves her?!  
The last thought made Alex feel like throwing up. She wants to start this right but she will do it slowly.  
“The day I saw you walk into that small airport in Kuala Lumpur.” Alex admitted, smiling at the memory while eyeing Piper’s face as the blonde looks at her with confusion. “Maybe you don’t remember it anymore but I think I fell in love with you when I saw you amidst all those busy people at the airport and your luggage was falling off your cart but you still stopped to help with an old lady’s bag when she dropped it.”  
Piper shook her head, while trying to remember all of these. She remembers being in Kuala Lumpur a few years back and this was before the incident that happened when the armed men came to her house looking for something.   
“You were there?” Piper asked.  
“I was.” Alex thought slowly of how she will tell Piper everything.   
She thought long and hard and when she spoke she knew she couldn’t tell her everything all at once now. But she made a silent promise to herself that she will.  
“That’s how I knew that those men were after you. We all work for the same organization.” Alex said and faced the naked blonde while still holding her in her arms.  
When their body touched, they both felt the electricity of their sweaty bodies and the magical moment they both just shared awhile ago.   
Piper remembers her first question and took it as a chance to tell Alex. “Please... let’s never lie to each other, Alex. You can tell me anything, ok?” she assures the brunette while looking straight into her eyes while a smile is slowly growing in her face as she teased. “You didn’t love me then, and you didn’t love me when you made that bet. It doesn’t matter, really it doesn’t matter to me anymore. All that matters is that you love me now.”  
Alex tipped her chin up and forced Piper to meet her gaze. “No. I meant what I said. I made that bet because I love you. I don’t know what I would have done if you chose to leave but I would have not stopped you. After all the things I did. I couldn’t.”  
Piper doesn’t want to think of the sad things that happened between them anymore but still she’s determined to set a pattern of honesty and frankness between them. She knows they still have a lot to talk about but they have all the time in the world to do that. Slowly.  
“You made that bet because you wanted my body and that’s it.”  
Alex wrapped her arms around the blonde and pulled her up onto her naked chest. “Oh babe,” Alex said, rubbing her knuckles tenderly on Piper’s cheek, “I understand why you can’t believe me but that’s the truth and I will do everything to show it.”  
Piper pushed her body more into Alex and kissed her with all the happiness she was feeling and loving the word ‘babe’ that Alex just called her as the brunette rolled her into her back to start showing her once again all the love that’s bursting inside her chest.  
/  
“Alex?” Piper whispered at dawn the next morning.  
Alex opened one sleepy eye and saw Piper looking bright and alert as she sat down on the bed beside her.  
“Good morning.” Alex murmured, her appreciative gaze shifting to the exposed flesh of the blonde’s night gown. “What time is it?” she asked, her voice husky with sleep. Alex glanced toward outside the window and saw that it’s still dark but there’s already a weak streak of light.  
“Five o’clock.” Piper answered brightly.  
“You’re joking.” Alex uttered. They slept just two hours ago, with their last ounce of strength as they both collapsed from the earth shattering lovemaking they had been having all night long. The brunette closed her eyes and asked for an explanation for being woken up at such an early hour. “Are you ok? Are you sick?”  
“No.”  
“Is someone dead?”  
“No.”  
A faint smile tugged at Alex’s full lips and creased the sides of his closed eyes as she mumbled, “Sickness or death are the only acceptable reasons for someone to be awake this early in the morning. Come back to bed.”  
Piper chuckled at Alex’s sleepy banter but she shook her head. “No.”  
Despite the brunette’s closed eyes and sleepiness, Alex had already registered the blonde’s unusual bright smile. She has always been used to Piper’s reserved and not relaxed smiles and the blonde didn’t always feel at ease in touching her first but right now, her hips were pressing very closely to Alex’s thighs.  
Now she’s very curious what the reason was for Piper’s very pleasant but very unusual behaviour this morning that made Alex open her eyes and look at the blonde. With her golden hair swaying over her shoulders and her skin glowing with health, Piper looked delicious. “Well?” Alex said lightly, restraining the urge to pull the blonde down on top of her. “I am awake now.”  
“Good.” Piper said, hiding the uncertainty behind her smile. “because I want to do something special this morning.”  
“At this hour?” Alex teased. “What can you do at this time of the hour, do you want to clean the streets or milk some cows? Only servants are awake at this time.”  
“Do you have a cow?” Piper laughs.  
“No. But I’m sure I can get one if you want some.”  
“We don’t have to leave for a while yet.” Piper said as her courage began to dwindle and she braced for Alex to refuse her idea.  
“What would you like to do?” Alex asked with a sigh, mentally considering what could the blonde wants.  
“Guess.”  
“You want me to take you to the village again, to shop for something?” Alex asks, preparing herself to agree even if all she wants is to stay in bed with her.  
Piper shook her head.  
“You want to go to the beach to see the sunrise so you can draw it?”  
“I can’t draw a straight line,” Piper confessed. Inhaling deeply, she summoned all her courage and said. “I want to go fishing!”  
“Fishing?!” Alex asked, completely wondering why this activity was what Piper was thinking of.  
“I loved the stream that was surrounded with beautiful trees that you have at the edge of your property. I’d like to go there with you.” With all of Piper’s adventures before, in one of her travels, she found that she enjoyed learning how to fish so much and how relaxing it is. With how Alex has been working so much, Piper thought she could use a morning of relaxation and they will do it by trying to fish. No matter how ridiculous the idea may seem to be. Piper thought with a wide smile.  
“You want to go fishing at this hour?” Alex gaped at her as if she had lost her mind and before the blonde could answer, Alex shoved her head deeper into the pillows and firmly closed her eyes, looking like she’s rejecting the idea...but there was a smile in her voice when she said. “Not unless there’s no food in the kitchen anymore and we’re about to starve to death.”  
Encouraged by the brunette’s tone when Piper sensed that she’s joking, Piper replied. “You don’t have to worry about anything, I will teach you how to fish. I know some techniques on how to do it.”  
With that challenged, Alex opened one eye and said with an amused voice. “What makes you think that I don’t know how?”  
“Well if you don’t know how, I will show you.”  
“Thank you but I can manage on my own.” Alex says roughly. Making Piper believe that she’s making her do something. Taking the bait when she didn’t need to because she would gladly do whatever the blonde would ask.  
“Good.” Piper said, relieved that the brunette took her challenged which then on made her ramble. “So can I. I can do everything for myself, like putting the worm on the hook...”  
Alex lips quirked with a smile. “Good, then you can bait my hook. I don’t want to disturb helpless worms at this time and then torture them with that hook.”  
Alex humor was so contagious that Piper laughed as she stands up and tightened the belt on the robe. “I’ll take care of the things that we will need.” The blonde said happily and excused herself to go to her room.  
Alex leaned back against the pillow, admiring the seductive sway of the blonde’s hips as she walked away, while she fought down the urge to call Piper back to her bed and spend the next hour going down on her again. She did not want to go fishing and she did not understand why Piper did but if the blonde wants to do it then she’ll try it for her.  
/  
After an hour, as they were making their way to spot where Piper was taking her, Alex saw that the blonde really did take care of things.  
Tying their horses to a pair of trees, Alex walked beside Piper to the grassy spot near the stream, where a bright blue blanket had been spread out under a giant oak tree. “What’s all that?” Alex asked, pointing at the two large baskets and one small one beside the blanket.  
“Breakfast.” Piper replied shooting Alex a laughing glance. “And lunch and dinner. Looks like Miss Claudette doesn’t have much faith in your ability that you can fish.” Piper teased.  
“In any case, I only have an hour to try this ridiculous idea of yours.”  
Piper paused in the act of picking up a fishing pole, confused and disappointed. “An hour?”  
“I have a dozen things to do today.” Alex replied, crouching down as she chose a pole from the ones that John’s men brought out there when Piper asked his helped. “I’m a very busy business woman Piper.” Alex added absently while explaining.  
“From what I know and see, you’re also a very wealthy woman.” Piper answered. “So why do you have to work so hard all the time?”  
Alex thought for a moment and chuckled, “So that I will be a very wealthy woman all the time.”  
“If being wealthy costs you the right to relax and enjoy life then the price of wealth is very high.” Piper said while looking at Alex.  
The brunette chose to reveal and share to the blonde her reasons, taking the opportunity of the moment. “Ever since I got back, I’ve needed to prove to myself and to my father that I can handle managing a business, so I did everything that I could to double it within a short time span with just my hard work. I didn’t want any of it before. That’s why I ran away and that’s how I got to meet not very nice people.” Alex confessed as she walked down beside a huge fallen tree with its branches stretching out over the water and cast her pole in.  
“That’s not the best place to catch fish.” Piper advised her with an air of superiority as she came up behind her. “Hold my pole for me please?”  
“I thought you said you could do everything for yourself,” Alex teased, noticing Piper had taken off her sandals. Before she could guess what the blonde was planning to do, Piper walked on bare feet onto the wide trunk of the fallen tree and stood in the middle of it. “Thank you.” Piper said, reaching for her pole.  
Alex handed it to her, expecting her to sit down where she stood but to her alarmed surprise, Piper walked out along a thick branch hanging above the rushing water, balancing like an acrobat. “Come back!” Alex said sharply, raising her voice in alarm. “You could fall!”  
“I can swim like a fish!” Piper said, grinning over her shoulder and then sat down, with her shapely legs dangling over the water and sunlight shining in her hair. “I learned how to fish on one of my travels.” She said conversationally as she casted her line into the stream.  
Alex nodded while looking at Piper. She was indeed good in fishing, Alex thought when she saw the blonde reach into the can of worms and deftly put it into the hook.  
Piper was thinking of the same thing because a moment later she smiled down at the brunette and remarked. “I’m happy to see that you are not squeamish about worms.”   
“I was never squeamish!” Alex protested with a serious expression on her face. “I just hate to hear the sound worms make when you stick them to the hook. I prefer to kill them before using it for bait. I think that’s more humane, right?”  
“There is no sound!” Piper retorted back.  
“Only people with extraordinary hearing can detect it, but it’s there.” Alex argued with a straight face.  
The brunette looked so certain that Piper’s own conviction wavered a little bit. Do worms really make a sound when you stick them into a hook? But a moment later when she turned her face, she could see Alex shoulders shaking with amusement.  
A fistful of twigs and leaves hit Alex on the left shoulder. “Silly!” Piper said cheerfully from above the trunk.  
“Hey!” Alex replied, grinning as she reached up and calmly brushed the leaves and twigs off her shirt. “If I was on top of a limb of the tree, like you are now, I’d be more careful and treat me with respect.” To show the blonde, Alex reached up her free hand and gently nudged the stout limb she was perched on.  
Piper lifter her brows. “Hey! If you dismount me here, you’ll be making a terrible mistake and you’ll set yourself up to be wet in the process.”  
“Me, why?!” Alex said, enjoying their banter.  
“Because,” Piper said quietly and earnestly. “I can’t swim.”  
Alex paled and shot up to her feet. “Don’t, for God’s sake,” She ordered sharply, “move one inch. I don’t know how deep the water is but it’s deep enough to drown in and it’s murky enough to make it hard for me from seeing you below the surface. Stay there until I get you.”  
Walking carefully, Alex stepped into the tree trunk and began walking towards the blonde until she was within her reach. “Piper” Alex said in a calm, reassuring voice. “If I come any closer, my weight might break this branch.”  
Alex edged closed to Piper and bent so she could extend her hand to her. “Don’t be afraid. Just reach out and hold my hand.”  
For once Piper didn’t argue, Alex noted with relief.  
The blonde instead reached up with her left hand and tightly grasped the limb above her head for balance, then she extended her right hand, catching the brunette’s wrist in a strong grasp, at the same time Alex’s fingers closed tightly around hers. “Now stand up slowly and hold on to me.”  
“I’d rather not,” Piper replied. Alex’s gazed narrowed sharply on Piper’s laughing face, while she tightened her grasp on the brunette’s wrist and said. “I’d rather swim.”  
“Don’t you dare.” Alex warned, unable to free her wrist. In her awkward position, with her arm locked from Piper holding it, she was completely at the mercy of the blonde’s whim and they both knew it.  
“If you can’t swim, I’ll rescue you.” Piper volunteered sweetly.  
“Piper.” Alex threatened in a soft tone, “If you toss me into that freezing water, you’d better swim for your life in the opposite direction.”  
Alex meant it and the blonde knew it. “Yes, Alex.” Piper meekly replied and released her wrist.  
Alex straightened slowly and stood looking down at the blonde’s amused, laughing face. “You are the most outrageous---“ she broke off unable to control her own laughter.  
“Thank you,” Piper replied brightly. “Predictability is very dull, don’t you think?” Piper called after Alex as the brunette turned and walked back and jumped down to the grass.  
“How would I know?” Alex replied with an amused look as her stretched out on the spot where she fished before and picked up her pole again. “I haven’t had a predictable hour ever since I laid eyes on you.”  
The next three hours passed as if they were a few minutes and by the end of it, Alex had confirmed Piper was really good in fishing and to add to that, a very delightful, witty and intelligent companion as well.  
“Look!” Piper called suddenly and unnecessarily as Alex’s pole bent in half, almost jerking her to her feet as she fought to hold it. “You have a bite!”  
After five minutes of manoeuvring and fighting on Alex’s part, her line abruptly went slack. Piper, standing up on her tree limb, from where she had observed Alex’s unsuccessful struggle while calling out advice and encouragement, groaned and threw her hands in disgust. “You lost the fish!”  
“That was not a fish!” Alex shot back, looking up at her. “That was a very large whale with large teeth!”  
“Yeah, because it got away” Piper answered again, laughing.  
The blonde’s laughter was so infectious as her enthusiasm that Alex couldn’t stop herself from grinning even though she tried to sound stern. “Please stop belittling my fishing skills and let’s just open those baskets, I’m starving.”  
Sitting down across Piper on the blanket, Alex leaned her back against the tree and studied the blonde in silence, watching her unpack the food.  
Piper tore her gaze from what she was doing and looked at Alex. “It’s been a wonderful morning. Even though you’ve obviously proven how lousy you are in fishing.”  
“Beware in shattering my ego. It forces me to show my supremacy in a different way.” Alex said as she bends over Piper about to kiss her.  
“Did I shatter your ego?”  
“Yes.”  
“Because I was better in fishing than you?”  
“No.” Alex whispered, her smiling lips almost touching hers now. “Because you caught a bigger fish than I did.”   
Piper’s giggle was abruptly smothered by the brunette’s lips. Feeling contented, Alex decided to stall on their lovemaking for a few minutes after she got herself a long, hungry kiss, she decided to lay back beside her.  
Piper looked a little surprised and a little disappointed that the brunette didn’t continue.  
“Later,” Alex promised with a lazy grin that made Piper blush and smile. After a minute she seemed to become fascinated with something in the sky.  
“What are you looking at?” Alex asked, watching her.  
“A dragon.” When the brunette looked puzzled, Piper lifter her arm and pointed to the sky. “Right there, that cloud, what do you see when you look at it?”  
“A fat cloud.”  
Piper rolled her eyes at her. “What else do you see?”  
Alex was quiet for a moment while studying the sky. “Five more fat clouds and three thin ones.” To Alex’s surprise, the blonde burst out laughing, rolled onto her side and kissed her full on the mouth but when Alex tried to hold her tighter and begin to make love to her, Piper drew back and insisted on resuming her study of the sky.  
“Don’t you have any imagination at all?” Piper said laughing. “Look at those clouds, for sure you can see one that reminds you of something. “   
Challenged by her insinuation that she had no imagination at all, Alex narrowed her eyes and stared hard and then finally discovered a shape she recognized. There was a cloud that looked exactly like... breasts! After she recognized the shape, Piper excitedly asked again. “What do you see?” and Alex’s whole body shook with laughter.  
“I see a very big, fat, huge, breasts right there.” And when Piper saw what she was pointing too they were both shaking on the ground with laughter.  
The study of cloud formations, Alex realized was unexpectedly a very pleasurable past time that she has not done before. Also with Piper’s hand clasped in hers and the blonde’s body pressed against her side. A few minutes, however, combined with Piper’s nearness and her scent became too hard for Alex to ignore. Leaning up on her forearm, Alex braced her other arm on the opposite side of the blonde, then she slowly lowered her mouth to hers. Piper responded to the brunette’s kiss very warmly and eagerly that Alex felt like her heart was melting. Pulling her lips from hers, she looked down on Piper’s lovely face, feeling humbled by her gentleness and warmth. “I heart you” Alex whispered gently.   
Piper felt the warmth of those words all over her body and squeezed through her heart that made her spill out achingly as she looks right through her eyes and couldn’t believe they’re right here, after all they have gone through, “I heart you too....” The blonde’s answer made Alex kiss her once again with all the hunger that she felt deep within and began undressing her.  
/  
It was already late in the afternoon when they decided to go back to the house. Unaware of the hidden glances of John and Miss Claudette and the dozen servants, who were avidly curious on how the morning went for the two.  
Piper smiled to Alex when they were walking to the house from the stables. “Thank you for that beautiful morning.” The blonde said as they both near the house.  
“You’re welcome” The brunette’s said as she took Piper’s hand into hers and smiled lovingly at her while her thumb stroked the back of Piper’s hand while keeping her body close to her.  
“Would you like to do that again?” Piper asked, hoping the brunette had as much fun as her that she’d want to do it again.  
Alex chuckle was rich and deep. “Again,” she promised huskily, thinking of what they did right after fishing. “And again....and again...”  
Piper blushed but when she answered there was a sparkle in her eyes. “I meant would you like to go fishing again?”  
“Will you let me catch the biggest fish next time?”  
“No but I will vouch for you, if you will tell everyone about a whale you caught that got away.” Piper said, her face glowing with laughter.  
Alex threw back her head and laughed so loud that the sound of it echoed all the way to the house and the whole property, which Miss Claudette and John heard, who were at the kitchen talking. “I told you, she could do it.” The old lady said nudging John at the elbow.   
John just nodded as he filled his cup with the coffee that Miss Claudette prepared, unable to tell the old lady about new information he just found out that may involve the blonde.  
“Can I walk you to your room now?” Alex asked.  
“Why? Are you tired of my company already?” Piper asked.  
“No.” Alex said while guiding the blonde to her room, “But I’ve spent most of the day resting and now I’ll have to work twice as hard today and tomorrow for the things I’ve neglected to do today.”  
Piper was a little disappointed but tried to be understanding, thinking that the brunette would just be there working at the same house, and also she doesn’t want to appear to be too clingy. Piper said brightly “In that case, I will try not to distract you until the day after when you’re not that busy anymore.”  
“What sort of distraction do you have in mind?” Alex asked, grinning.  
“A picnic.”  
“I’ll make sure to have time for that.”  
/  
“Sit down, John. I just have to finish this email.” Alex said later that afternoon without bothering to look up. Several minutes later, Alex tossed down the calculator and leaned back on her chair and abruptly demanded. “Well, what is it?”  
“Alex, when you told me after the party to check on Larry because he was acting a little strange, I asked one of my men to watch him the night of the party and after. He just got back to give me the information that he has gathered about Larry and it’s very disturbing.”  
“What did he find out?”  
“On the night of the party, he followed Larry while making himself perfectly hidden and he saw that Larry was watching you and Piper out in the shore. He also said that after Piper left you, Larry stopped her and they were talking very seriously.”  
Alex face tightened but she kept herself compose and urged John to continue. “Yeah I saw that.”  
“After that Larry left and he acted very nervously. My man again followed him, camping outside his house and following him everywhere. He has learned a lot of things about Larry, but our problem, and what needs our immediate attention is this.” John said as he handed the brunette a picture of Larry and Mendez talking outside his car.  
“The bastard got to him. At least now we know they’re working together and we can plan our next move on that.”  
“I’m not finished and this might be a little disturbing.” John said carefully and Alex raised her brows at him.  
“At the night of the party, when he saw Larry and Piper talking, he couldn’t make out most of what they were talking about because they were whispering but he heard Larry and Piper talking about meeting somewhere. For me this is very disturbing and I hate to say this but possibly suspecting on Piper’s part. I have grown fond of her but we have to be very careful on who to trust now. My first priority is to protect you and---”  
Alex dark brows snapped together over the frigid glare of her eyes. “I don’t know why you would be disturbed by that!” Alex said cutting his words. “She just wanted to talk to who she thinks was a friend. He was the first person she got to know and maybe liked when she got here. I don’t like Larry and especially now, but I know he’s not intelligent enough to plan this scheme. Mendez has something on him and the coward guy couldn’t find a way out and that’s why he’s in this position. In regards with Piper, she defied my orders not to associate with Larry even if she knows I don’t like the guy which is my problem and not yours. It is not, however, cause to suspect her of....” Alex trailed off, unable to voice out the word.  
“Working with them?” John said quietly. “My man also said that they were talking very seriously and at one point Larry was even holding Piper.”  
Pain, suspicion and doubt blazed through Alex’s brain as she pictured Piper and Larry holding each other.  
“But he said it was not for a prolonged period of time.” John said.  
Drawing a long, steadying breath, Alex briefly closed her eyes. When she spoke, her voice was calm and cold. “Piper thinks Larry is her friend. That’s what she thought of him when he took us out and I know for sure at that time he was still not working for fucking Mendez. Since she does not know anything about what is really happening or that Larry might be working for him or that her life might be in danger from the same man. She undoubtedly felt like my restrictions for her were unjust and unreasonable.”  
“She doesn’t mind what you think about Larry and still talked about meeting him yet you don’t find that, suspicious.”  
“After all that has happened to her, she’s not in her home, I would understand that she would long to have an ally or even a friend. I find it infuriating, not suspicious.” Alex replied with sarcasm. “Piper is used to doing what she wants to do and she would fight to get it, she’s never afraid to do it. It’s a habit that’s sometimes not pleasing for me but it doesn’t make her an accomplice to get me.”  
Realizing that it’s pointless to argue John nodded politely and stood up.  
“Also John, next time.” Alex ordered tightly. “Instruct your men to keep their backs at a distance from me and Piper when we are just inside the property. They’re suppose to be looking for a possible break in or suspects, not spying on us.”  
“Spying on you?” John asked in dismay.  
“On the way back, I saw two of your men hiding behind the trees. They were watching us, not watching for possible danger. Get rid of them!”  
“Yes Alex.” John agreed and left.  
But when the doors to her office closed behind him, the unresolved and uncertainty slowly washed on Alex’s face as she tried to block out John’s words that kept pounding in her head like a thousand hammers....they were talking very seriously about a meeting and at one point Larry was even holding Piper. I find her actions suspicious...  
A silent shout of denial in Alex’s brain drowned out John’s words. This is crazy! She would not allow herself to think for another moment that Piper was going to betray her. The beautiful woman who had teased and laughed with her today and then kissed her lovingly was not secretly wanting to hurt her. It was an insane idea.  
She refused to believe it.  
Because she couldn’t bear to believe it.  
From the moment the blonde entered her life, she had already been captivated by her. And now that they both said their feelings for each other, she completely holds her heart. Piper made her happy, infuriated, enticed her. Piper’s smile warmed her, her touch heated her blood and her laugh makes her spirit soar.  
Even now when she’s filled with jealousy and plagued with doubt, she smiles when she thought of the way the blonde looked this morning.  
Picking up her pen, Alex threw herself into her work again, trying to block everything else on her mind.   
At the other part of the house, Piper was slowly walking out of her room. Looking out from both her sides if someone was out there to see where she’s planning to go.  
After Alex dropped her outside her room, she felt like she was floating from happiness after that lovely morning spent with her blonde that she decided maybe she can use a nap since she was already awake very early this morning and had to prepare for what she had planned. She was surprised to see a letter on top of her pillow when she was about to climb into bed and when she opened it, the words made her heart beat so fast like a drum.  
Piper, time is running out. You have to come see me. At the end part of the property, after the stream, you will see a fence. Cross it and I will be waiting there. Make sure nobody sees you and don’t make a mistake in telling Alex where you will be or her life will be in danger. You need to know the truth, Larry.  
The last part of the letter made Piper dropped the note. Just thinking of Alex being hurt made her stomach coil and hurt. She knows someone is out there that wants to hurt Alex or maybe her. Maybe Larry has found out some information about it and he can help her find out. If she tells Alex about this, Piper knows the brunette would automatically refuse her to see him and she won’t ever find out what truth Larry is talking about. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt anyone if she would just go and talk to him. He is a nice guy after all from what she has known of him. Why would Alex’s life be in danger? That last thought made up Piper’s decision as she stood up to change into a jeans and shirt. She won’t take long, she promised, reasoning to herself because she feels guilty that she’s about to break Alex’s wishes that she should not go anywhere without telling anyone. Piper looked up to see that it’s almost 7pm, she knows this is the time that the men usually take their meal and she will be back before 8 to join the brunette for dinner already.  
The blonde snuck into the back of the house at the dusk of night not knowing that the danger is not only found outside but inside the house as well because there’s a traitor living there with them.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think, it helps me write

“Piper! Piper!”  
The blonde hears someone calling her. She had just stepped out from the back door of the house, on her way to meet Larry when she heard Miss Claudette’s voice calling for her. The old woman must have seen her on her way to the back of the house and followed her there. If she will meet Larry she must go now, but what if Alex sent Miss Claudette to go look for her?  
Hearing Miss Claudette’s voice calling her made Piper snap out of her mission to find out the truth and realize what this will do to the brunette. Oh Alex, how could she do this to her, going behind her back? Piper couldn’t help but be very curious in finding out the truth, but shouldn’t she do that with Alex? When the brunette is ready, slowly and one by one tell her all that the brunette is ready to share with her. Just thinking of the young blossoming bud of love that the two of them have, Piper felt very guilty on almost doing something that may taint it. What Larry knows, Piper thinks she can find out through Alex. At once, instead of taking another step to go meet Larry, Piper decided that she would just leave him a letter telling him that she can’t meet him and anything he wants her to know, he could come to the house and talk to her there like a proper visitor and talk to her and Alex.  
Piper hurriedly went to the stables and told the man in charge of taking care of the horses that she will not take long and will be back before dinner. After writing a small letter to Larry, she went to the meeting place but no one was there yet. Piper left the note under a rock and put it on the fence where it was very visible in case Larry came by. Piper then headed back to house immediately.  
/  
Telling herself that she was restless and was buried indoors the whole day, Alex walked out of the house to get a breath of fresh air when she saw Piper walking towards the house smiling at her when their eyes both met.  
“I’m surprised to see you out here, why are you standing out here by yourself?” Piper asked when she got near the brunette.  
I missed you. Alex thought. “I finished my work early” she lied. “How are you?”  
Piper chose not to talk about what she did earlier and decided to tell the brunette about it later when she is well rested.   
Covering the blonde’s hand with hers, Alex strolled with Piper to the lawn all the way to where they can see the beach ahead. “This is my favourite spot of the house.” Alex explained. “If you would combine all the hours I spent on this spot as a little girl, they’d total to years.”  
Thrilled that the beautiful, enigmatic woman she had fallen in love with was finally beginning to open herself to her little by little; and Piper is gonna make sure she’s not going anywhere until Alex is all ready to do that, she smiled at her. “This is my favourite part of the house too. What did you mostly do when you were here?” the blonde asked.  
“Daydreamed mostly.” Alex chuckled. “I didn’t have siblings so I was always left alone to myself because my dad didn’t like it if I went to play with the servant’s children.” Alex said   
Piper felt a little sad for the brunette every time she remembers the story of her childhood but tries to hide it and it is quickly forgotten when she drags Piper by the hand, leading her somewhere.  
“Come I’ll show you my favourite tree when I was a kid. I spent a lot of time climbing there pretending I was a pirate when my dad was away on his trips.” Alex said as she leads Piper to the side of the lawn, where the garden is and behind it you can see a big mango tree.  
When they were near it, Alex touched the trunk with her fingers as if carefully inspecting something on it. When Piper came closer, she saw that there was an inscription written on it.   
Alex Vause, Pirate and Captain of the ship. Born: June, 17 1981 Died: April 16, 2010  
Piper turned to Alex with a comical look and asked “Did you carve that? Why is there a date of your death?”  
Alex chuckled and explained. “I was a very sad kid and honestly I didn’t know if I would live for a very long time before. Maybe that’s why I was very reckless with the things I got into because I didn’t value much of my life before, not until....”  
“Until?” Piper asked slowly.  
“Until I met you.” Alex said in a deep voice full of sincerity.   
Piper almost melted with those words and all she could do was reach up to the brunette’s face and cup her cheek lovingly before slowly stepping closer and giving Alex an open mouth kiss which Piper poured all the love she, too, felt for the brunette. She thought of telling Alex now, about the questions she has, about what Larry said but she didn’t want to ruin the moment.  
“I remember this place didn’t have a lot of flowers before or maybe there was already but I just didn’t notice it. Everything looked bleak before but right now I can see how serene and how colourful the garden is” Alex said while smiling, not wanting to appear like a romantic fool. They say when a person is in love, everything in her surroundings looks bright and beautiful.  
“Do you notice anything different now?”  
Alex glanced around and before turning away from the garden as she starts to walk away “Yes, I see there are a lot of flowers.”  
“Did you really?” Piper teased but she was serious too. “Without turning again, tell me what colors were the flowers behind your tree?”  
Alex shot her a questioning look and took her arm to lead her to the house. “Yellow?” she said after a moment.  
“Red and white.”  
“I was close.” Alex joked.  
But on the way back to the house, the brunette noticed for the first time that the roses were blooming and they were divided by colors, rather than mixed together as what she used to think before and that the red ones reminded her of the blonde’s lips. Slightly embarrassed by the untapped sentimentality Piper had awaken in her, Alex glanced at the blonde’s bent head but the next thought she had was even more shockingly sentimental than the last. Her birthday was coming up and she wondered if Piper had noted that when she saw it carved on the tree earlier.  
A vision of Piper waking her up with a kiss and a wish for her birthday floated happily through her mind and suddenly she very much wanted her to remember the date.   
“I’m getting old.” Alex remarked.  
“Mhhm.” Piper said absently, toying with an idea so intriguing, so perfect, she was bursting with excitement with how she’s going to do it.  
Obviously, Alex realized with a disappointment that Piper neither knew nor noticed that her birthday was coming up and by hinting to Piper about it, she was behaving like a fool who’s so hungry for affection.  
As soon as they entered the house, Alex started to go back to her office and leave Piper to do whatever she wants to but Piper’s voice stopped her.  
“Alex” Piper said smiling into her eyes in a way that made the brunette long to pull the blonde into her arms, “Are we still going to have our picnic tomorrow?” When Alex nodded, Piper explains, “Because I want to visit Maria’s sister who also works for the kitchen, she just gave birth to a baby boy and I wanna bring her something. Can I just meet you near the stream?”  
“Fine.”  
Alarmed and annoyed by her ever increasing desire to have Piper near her all the time, Alex chose not to go to Piper’s room after dinner that night. Instead, she spent the entire evening alone in her bed, thinking and analyzing these growing feelings she has for the blonde that she can’t handle sometimes. It makes her scared for she has not felt this way ever before but at the same time she just wants to plunge herself in all of it ,she thinks, while staring at the ceiling.   
At dawn, she was still awake, after moving on to other things that still involved Piper, Alex was now mentally redesigning Piper’s bedroom. How could she not think that Piper needed a bigger bathroom like hers and a much bigger dressing room like hers too. But of course, if that needs to be done, there would be no room for Piper to sleep in her own room. A faint smile touched her lips and she closed her eyes at last. Shewould let Piper sleep with her in her bed, Alex generously decided. Of course that’s the only solution to that, Alex thought.  
/  
Her heart was full of joy with the plans she’d been planning and putting into effect all morning. Piper went to the spot that her and Alex agreed to meet. Alex was already there, the brunette was standing in front of the stream. The brunette was gazing into the water and looked like she was lost in her thoughts.  
While looking at the brunette’s broad back and tall frame, her emotions wavered to happiness but also uncertainty because Alex didn’t join her and make love to her last night and then decided to throw all her worries into the wind. She loves Alex and she was determined to teach her to love and to laugh so she walked silently up behind her, rose on her toes and covered the brunette’s eyes with her hands. Alex had heard her approach and she didn’t flinch when Piper did that and just simply said. “You’re late.’   
“Quick” Piper said, “Tell me what color are the flowers on the other side of the stream you’ve been looking at.”  
“Yellow.” Alex said promptly.  
“It’s white.” Piper sighed, taking her hands away.  
“If I keep saying yellow” Alex replied, turning to face the blonde “sooner or later I will be right.”  
Piper shook her head and headed toward the blanket the brunette had already spread out. “You are the most unsentimental woman alive.” She told Alex over her shoulder.  
“Yeah?” Alex asked, catching Piper’s shoulders and drawing her back against her chest. Her breath stirred the hair of Piper’s temple. “Do you really think I’m cold Piper?”  
Piper swallowed, aware of the compelling sexual magnetism emanating from Alex’s sexy body.  
“Not cold precisely,” she said shakily, shamefully longing to turn into her arms and ask her why she had not wanted her with her last night. Forcing herself to ignore her shameless longing for her, Piper knelt on the blanket and quickly began removing from the baskets.  
“Are you very hungry?” Alex teased, sitting down beside the blonde.  
“I’m starved.” Piper lied, sensing that Alex was going to kiss her at any moment and trying to get control of her senses before the brunette did. Although they had professed their love for one another, Piper is still not ready to just fall into the brunette’s arms whenever she decided to kiss her, particularly because she was still wondering why the brunette didn’t join her last night. As if her life depended on just waiting for Alex and being this accepting lover all the time, Piper remained kneeling, keeping her back to her.  
As Piper leaned forward to get some napkins, Alex’s hand lifted, brushing away a lock of hair that had blown across Piper’s cheek. “You have beautiful hair.” The brunette murmured in a velvety voice that sent an uncontrollable thrill shooting through her. “It sparkles in the sunlight like honey and your skin looks so soft as peach.”  
Piper tried to hide behind a light humor. “Obviously, I am not the only one who’s hungry.”  
Alex chuckled at Piper’s evasion but her hand began trailing sensuously down her cheek and along her bare arm. “Didn’t the servants offer you any drink when you where there visiting them?”  
“Maria did but Mrs. Ruiz was there too, so I didn’t accept.” Piper wrinkled her pert nose, thinking of the sharp-tongued Mrs. Ruiz, who bullied her daughter even in Piper’s presence.  
Alex hand tightened on Piper’s arm, pulling the blonde’s hand away from the napkin she was trying to arrange, until she had no choice but to turn her face up to the brunette’s sultry gaze,  
“What was Mrs. Ruiz doing there?” Alex murmured as her sensual mouth descended towards Pipers  
“Chanting spells and waving a stick over a pot.” Piper joked shakily.  
“Chanting--.” Alex burst out laughing, caught Piper’s shoulders and in one swift move, twisted Piper onto her back and leaned over. “If there’s a witch around here casting spells, it’s you.” Alex said.  
Mesmerized by Alex’s gaze, Piper wanted so much the kiss she was going to give her but resented the easy conquest the brunette made of her whenever she wished. When Alex bent her head, Piper turned her face slightly so that the brunette’s lips could only graze her cheek. Undaunted by that, Alex lazily trailed her lips across her cheek to Piper’s sensitive earlobe. Abruptly, she plunged her tongue into the blonde’s ear and Piper’s whole body jerked and her shocked response was “I’m hungry.” Piper gasped.  
“Me too.” Alex whispered in her ear but definitely not referring to food and Piper’s heart began to hammer fast. Lifting her head, Alex gazed down into Piper’s eyes. “Please put your arms around me?”  
“How about after we eat and...?” Piper stalled.  
“Now.”  
“Would you like a glass of wine first?”  
“Now.” Alex repeated in a husky whisper, her lips a fraction of an inch from hers. “Pleasee..”  
With a silent moan, Piper curved her hand around Alex’s neck and eagerly brought the brunette’s lips to her own. At first the kiss was gentle, tentative greeting between lovers but the longer it continued the more pleasurable it became for both of them, and the tighter they clung to each other, wanting more. Alex’s tongue sensuously parted Piper’s lips, slipped between them to have a sweet, arousing taste and withdrew...then hungrily, urgently, plunged again and desire exploded between the two of them.  
Alex’s hand opened the buttons on her blouse, tugging down the blonde’s bra showing her breasts to the brunette’s hot eyes. Alex’s hand cupped Piper’s breast, pushing it upward, her thumb circling the Piper’s nipple, while she watched the pink tip harden and slowly bent her head down to put her mouth where her thumb had been. Alex’s mouth closed around the blonde’s nipple, her lips and tongue toying with it until Piper gasped with pleasure, then moved to the blonde’s other breast.  
Piper felt so hot and wet, passion raging through Piper’s entire nerve stream by the time the brunette finally managed to remove their clothes and stretched out beside her, leaning up on her forearm. “I can’t get enough of you.” Alex whispered, her eyes filled with desire as they gazed into the blonde’s while her hand sought and found the pool of wetness in between her legs. While still holding the blonde’s eyes into hers, she parted Piper’s thighs, her fingers toying and teasing Piper’s slick folds, penetrating every inch of it’s moist warmth and circled the blonde’s clit over and over until Piper was writhing in helpless need, arching her hips against her hand. Feeling very hot and the waves of pleasure coming into her, Piper convulsed and trembled from wanting to explode by the immensity of emotions that Alex’s hand was doing to her while the brunette was sucking her breasts and then her neck.  
Piper moaned aloud as her hands run up and down the brunette’s arms, then she wrapped her arms around her neck. Alex’s skilful fingers became more insistent, plunging in and out of her, deeper and deeper, touching that spot and another moan tore from Piper’s throat. “I know, babe,” Alex said achingly, “I want you too.. so much.” As she slid her fingers into the blonde, while her thumb keeps circling the blonde’s clit, doing it faster and giving her the bursting climax, her eyes has been pleading for.   
“I want to touch you too..” Piper whispered brokenly, “I want to be inside you..”  
With a shattered groan Alex gave Piper what she wanted, and soon she was already joining her at the peak of ecstasy as they both entered each other with one sure, powerful thrust. Piper pressed her hips hard against Alex, while the brunette did the same with her thighs and with her hands cupping the blonde’s butt, Alex joined with Piper in the most selfless act of lovemaking of her life. Driving slowly inside the blonde, seeking only to give Piper pleasure with each deep thrust of her fingers while Piper does the same desperate need to please her and match her movements.  
I love you, Alex thought with each thrust, I love you, her heart shouted, I love you her soul cried out even if she remembers John’s suspicions, I love you she thought once again as Piper’s shakes and clenched tightly around her fingers. The words exploded in her being as she felt her closer to that edge too and as she plunged her fingers into the blonde for the last time as they both climaxed with such intensity they could feel the ground shaking.   
And when it was over, she held Piper in her arms, filled with joy that was almost unbearable because she was able to go beyond herself, despite her doubts, despite her past experiences and despite being so dark and feeling unworthy of deserving this. Alex looked up the sky, all of them had shapes and meaning now. All of her life had shape and meaning to her now.  
When Piper surfaced to reality a little later, she found herself lying on her side stretched full length against the brunette’s body. Alex’s hand was splayed across her bare back, her other hand still wrapped in Piper’s hair, holding her face pressed to her chest. With an effort, Piper lifted her head, and opened her eyes and gazed at the woman beside her, then she flushed at the knowing look Alex gave her with a faint teasing smile painted on the brunette’s lips. Piper knows it’s a little too late to feel embarrass now that she’s lying here on the ground, fully naked and in broad daylight but she is. Suddenly overwhelmed by it all, she drew back and said lamely, “I’m hungry.”  
“When I’m stronger.” Alex promised teasingly.  
“For food!” Piper gasped.  
“Oh that,” Alex said dismissively but she obligingly rolled to her feet and helped Piper to gather their clothes. “You have grass in your hair,” the brunette chuckled, brushing it from Piper’s tangled hair.

 

To be continued...  
Second part of the picnic will follow very shortly. I just want to get something out there already. Are you glad Piper didn’t go through meeting Larry? Leave your thoughts.   
Don’t I have the greatest Kappa in the world?! ;)


	19. Chapter 19

Leaving Piper to have an alone time with herself to get dressed and unpack what was inside the basket, Alex strolled down to the stream and stood there for several minutes. The flowers on the on the other side of the stream, she suddenly noticed with clarity, were indeed white; a joyous, cheery carpet of white against dark green.  
When she returned, Piper was holding a bottle of wine. “Do you like a glass of wine?” Piper asked but the brunette sensed a little uneasiness from the blonde. “I think it’s a special kind of wine, I can tell from the bottle that you would like it.”  
Crouching down, Alex took the glass from her outstretched hand but placed it aside and gazed directly into Piper’s eyes, understanding that the blonde probably felt shy with what they just done out here in the open. “Babe,” Alex said gently. “There is nothing shameful with what just happened with us here... It was beautiful. Every moment with you is.”  
Piper swallowed and glanced uneasily through the surrounding. “But it’s broad daylight.”   
The blonde’s reaction was so adorable. Alex couldn’t help but take her into her arms and say, “I left instructions at the house that we wished to be private here this afternoon.”  
Color flared much more in the blonde’s cheeks. “What?! No doubt they all know why.”  
Tightening her embrace on Piper, Alex changed their positions so that she can make the blonde sit on her lap. “No doubt they did.” The brunette agreed without the trace of embarrassment that Piper felt. “I want everyone to know that you are very special to me, is that alright with you?” Alex asked, uncertain of Piper’s reply, knowing she couldn’t bear it if the blonde was not fine with it.  
“Definitely.” Piper answered, certainly and reached up to give the brunette a hot kiss that would have awakened Alex appetite for the blonde again but stopped when she felt Piper, shaking from laughter.  
“What’s funny?” Alex asked.  
“It’s just funny how things turned out for us. Five months ago, there was nothing I wanted more than to be as far away from you as possible.” and together they laughed with that thought.  
“Do you still want some more wine?” Piper asked when they had finished eating a couple of hours later.  
Alex reached behind her and picked up an empty glass she unpurposely tipped over in the grass. “No, but I like having you take care of me like this.” Alex said with a lazy beautiful smile.  
Piper managed to hold her gaze as she quietly and shyly admitted the truth. “I like doing it.”  
On their way home they decided to ride the cart that Alex used to go there and left Piper’s horse tied to the tree and just let Alex instruct someone to get it later. Piper could not tear her thoughts from the stormy passion of their lovemaking or quiet tenderness that stayed with them even afterward and while they ate.  
Piper remembered that at some point, Alex told her to “touch me, I like it when you touch me.”  
The idea of voluntarily touching the brunette and being affectionate with her was so appealing to Piper right now because she also remembered how Alex asked “Is that alright?”, like a little girl she was before, hungry and asking so much to be loved by her father.  
Piper gave Alex a speculative sideways glance and wondered how Alex would react if Piper casually rested her head on the brunette’s shoulder. It was the first time she would ever voluntarily touch Alex in affection while they were outside, it was always the brunette who would do something and she would just respond to it. Piper instantly knew from the way Alex swiftly turned her head to look at her, that she was surprised by the gesture. She could not tell however, what the brunette thought about it.  
“Sleepy?” Alex asked.  
Piper opened her mouth, intending to save face by saying yes at the exact moment Alex lifted her arm and placed it around her shoulders. “No.” She said instead.  
Piper felt the slight stiffening of Alex’s body as she registered that Piper had just indirectly told her that she wanted to be close to her, and Piper’s heart pounded as she wondered what Alex would do next.  
Alex’s hand shifted from her shoulder and came to rest against the side of her face, her fingers gently caressing her cheek as she cuddled Piper closer to her then began slowly stroking the blonde’s hair.  
When they arrived at the stables, Alex was gently helping her off the cart. Ignoring the avidly curious stares of the servants that were working at the stable.  
“Did I tire you out that much?” Alex teased and huskily chuckled when Piper glared at her while she blushed.  
With their hands linked to each other, they began walking towards the house, while behind them, the old stable man began to whistle some familiar music whose tune Alex recognized.  
“Is something wrong?” Piper asked.  
“I must be paying them too much,” Alex joked but her expression was puzzled. “They seem very cheerful and happy.”  
“At least you’re finally beginning to notice there’s music in the air.” The girl that she loves said.  
Alex chuckleddeeply but her grin slowly faded as she looked down into Piper’s beautiful face and thought how much she loves her.   
I can’t spend another night not being with you... I can’t wait not to make you mine..If you let me.. I can’t wait to start a new life with you... Please let me. I’m yours.  
The thought crashed into her brain, almost bursting to be said. She’s planning to ask Piper to be with her. Piper wanted her to say it, Alex realized instinctively as her eyes held hers, looking into her soul.  
She would ask her tonight, Alex decided. When they are alone in her bed, she would say the words she’d never said before. She would release her from their wager, as if she hadn’t already and solemnly ask her to stay with her. The blonde wanted to stay, Alex knew, as well as she knew this lovely, bewitching, brave, girl also loved her.  
“What are you thinking?” Piper asked softly.  
“I’ll tell you tonight.” Alex promised. Putting her arm around her waist, Alex drew her tightly against her side and they strolled together back to the house.  
/  
Still unwilling to leave Piper’s company, Alex walked the blonde to her villa and into her room. “Did you enjoy your afternoon, babe?” Alex asked.  
The endearment, each time Alex called her that, made Piper’s eyes glow and feel warm all over. “Very much.”  
Alex kissed her because she wanted some more reason to linger then walked slowly toward the door to leave Piper to attend to her things, seeing that the blonde was carefully starting to fold her fresh clean clothes.  
“I’ll join you for drinks before supper later.” Piper called out as she slipped outside with a bright smile on her face.  
/  
Alex stared at herself in the mirror as she cleaned her face with a cotton, inspecting any spots that she hadn’t touched yet. In an exceptionally good mood, Alex jokingly said to Miss Claudette as the old lady hands her the clothes that’s she’s gonna wear tonight. “Well, do you think Piper would like this dress on me?”  
“Seeing that Piper has fine taste herself, I’m sure that she would.” The old lady answered.  
Alex’s lips quirked with amusement and added. “Miss Claudette, do you know what color the roses are out at the back, behind the mango tree?”  
Puzzled by the abrupt change of topic and the question itself, Miss Claudette replied blankly. “Roses? What roses?”  
“You seriously need romance in your life old lady.” Alex replied, chuckling as she tapped her nanny on the arm like a friend. “You’re worse than I was. At least I knew there were roses on—“ Alex broke off abruptly as she heard John hammering on her door, like a frenzy, calling. “Alex, Alex!”  
Telling Miss Claudette that she can now go and leave the two of them, Alex stalked to the door and yanked it open, angrily confronting him. “What the hell is the matter with you?” Alex demanded.  
“One of the maids, Alex.” John said so distraught.  
“Will you calm down!” Alex snapped. “What is it?”  
“Before I explain,” John began cautiously. “I need to ask you a question. From the time you drove away from the front of the house in your cart with the picnic baskets today, who handled the wine bottle that was packed into the picnic basket this afternoon?”  
“The wine?” Alex repeated, caught off guard with the discussion of wine rather than telling her what exactly is going on. “Piper handled it when she poured a glassful for me.”  
An odd almost sad expression darkened the eyes of her friend and most trusted bodyguard. “Did you drink any of it?”  
“No.” Alex said. “The glass tipped over in the grass.”  
“I see. And Piper, did she have any of it?”  
“No. She doesn’t like to drink that much.  
“Did you stop anywhere and leave the baskets unattended before you arrived at your destination?”  
“No, we didn’t.” Alex said, eager to see Piper already and angry because this interview was delaying that. “What the hell is this about John?!”  
“Tricia Miller, one of the maids is dead. Poisoned. Only Lorna, the other maid who was also working at the kitchen when the incident happened is the only one who knows about this but I told her not to tell anyone yet.” John said flatly.  
“Poisoned.” Alex repeated, unable to entirely understand how such a horrible thing could even take place in her own house. “How the hell can an accident happen here, inside the house?!”  
“The only accidental thing about it was the victim. That poison was intended for you. I blame myself for not thinking of the possibility that they would actually try to accomplish killing from inside your own home. In a way, I’m to blame for the maid’s death.” John said in a harsh tone.  
“Why do you believe that it was intended for me?” Alex said.  
“The poison was placed in the bottle of the new special wine that you just ordered, which was included among the items provided for your picnic. The baskets were unpacked here, after you returned by one of the kitchen servants named Lorna, I think you know her, they also have a house just outside the property. Tricia was also there at that time and she saw that there were some debris inside it and judged that it might be unfit for you to drink so she decided to change the bottle with a new one. Tricia took it to her room at four this afternoon. At seven she was found dead, her body is still warm and the bottle of wine was beside her.”  
“When do you think was the poison placed inside the bottle?” Alex demanded, without the slightest inclination that her entire world was about come crashing down on her feet.  
“Since you didn’t stop anywhere and I saw myself that Miss Claudette tasted the wine first to check if it’s still good before placing it in the basket,” John said quietly. “I think the obvious answer is that the poison was dropped into the bottle during the picnic.”  
"That’s absurd!” Alex clipped. “There were only two people there, Piper and me!”  
John delicately shifted his gaze away from the brunette’s face as he said. “Exactly, and since you didn’t do it, that only leaves... Piper.”  
Alex reaction was instantaneous and volatile. “No! Get out!” She warned in a low savage breath, “If you’re not out my room in 5 seconds, I’ll make you myself. And if I ever hear you breathe a word of this again, I’ll kill you with my own two hands!”  
John stood up slowly, but he wasn’t finished. On the other hand, he wasn’t a fool enough to remain within arm’s reach of his infuriated friend. Backing away a long step he said sadly, “I regret to say that I have grounds in saying this.”  
A feeling of inexpressible dread soared through Alex’s body, pounding in her brain, screaming in her heart as she recalled seeing Piper holding the bottle of wine when she returned from the stream. “Would you like some wine? I think it’s a special kind of wine, I can tell from the bottle that you would like it.”  
“Did you know that Piper was in contact with Larry again?”  
Alex shook her head as if denying what her intellect was already beginning to suspect, while pain and shock and fury tore through every fiber of her being.  
Correctly interpreting the signs of acceptance, John said quietly, “My man saw Piper leaving Larry a note at the end of the property, she left it there for him. Although he didn’t see them talk because Piper was in hurry to come back to the house because it was dinner time already, but my man saw Larry taking the note just a minute after Piper was gone.”  
Alex slowly turned her head and looked at John, her eyes iced with rage and pain. She said nothing. Wordlessly she walked to the table where there was a bottle of brandy on a silver tray, jerked the stopper from the bottle and poured herself a full glass. She drank down two full swallows.  
Behind her, John said gently. “Are you willing to listen to me now?”  
Alex inclined her head slightly but did not turn.  
“They obviously got Piper on their side and they’re communicating behind our backs. But not as secretly as they think they are doing because we are following their every move. They think we have no idea. Oh how wrong they are.”  
John paused, waiting but the brunette remained silent, standing with her back to him, her shoulders rigid.  
“The only reason why Piper would do this is she still wants to have her revenge on you. And she has found a way to do that through Larry. They are clearly working as accomplices.”  
Drawing a long breath, John added. “I must be blunt from now on, if I’m to have your cooperation and protect your life....”  
When the tall woman across the room said nothing, John continued with what he thinks they should do. “I’m going to ask you to pretend we haven’t any idea Tricia the servant was poisoned. Let Piper and Larry think you’re ignorant of any scheme of theirs. I’ve instructed the family doctor who checked the body to say he thinks Tricia’s heart simply stopped and I was cautious when I questioned the kitchen servants about the emphasis on the bottle of wine. They have no reason to think we suspect foul play. Even Miss Claudette shouldn’t find out yet. If we can carry on this act and tighten surveillance on Piper and Larry we will know for sure when they would attempt on your life next.” John concluded. “I think they’ll try to do it again, since they think we’re unaware of it. We’ll have to wait and watch. I advise you not to drink or eat anything Piper gives you, which she could have touched without your knowledge.” After he finished John fell silent, waiting for some reaction. He felt very bad for mistaking Piper to be good for Alex, to think he even helped her to win his friend’s heart.  
Alex remained rigid as steel. John hesitated, then started to go to the door. Softly and with genuine regret and sympathy for the brunette, he said. “I’m very sorry, Alex. I can see how much Piper means to you more now. I’m really sorry.”  
John had just closed the door when the deathly silence was suddenly shattered by the breaking of a glass and when John opened the door to Alex’s room again fearing that the brunette was in danger, he saw that the woman who tried to conceal any trace of emotion throughout the whole time he was talking was now standing with her hands bracing the back of her chair, shaking and crying from her silent anguish.  
/  
Piper whirled around in her bright green dress as Alex walked into the veranda, the smile on her face slightly faded when she saw the hardness of the brunette’s jaw as she looked into Alex’s face and saw the cold glitter in her eyes. “Is something wrong, Alex?”  
At Piper’s gentle use of her name, the muscles of her face clenched so tight the nerve in her cheek began to pulse. “Wrong?” Alex repeated cynically, while her gaze wandered over the blonde’s body, with insulting gaze, inspecting all her length before lifting to Piper’s face. “I don’t see anything wrong.” Alex replied with indifference.  
Piper’s mouth went dry and her heart began to beat in heavy, terrifying dread as she sensed the brunette had seemingly withdrawn from her, as if the closeness, the love and laughter they’d shared had never existed. Panic drove her to try to recover by reaching for the pitcher of lemonade on the table. Alex had said she liked it when Piper shows her affection or taking care of her, and so she did the only thing she could think of. Filling a small glass with the lemonade, she turned and held it out to the brunette with a smile on her face. “Would you like some lemonade?”  
Alex’s eyes turned to blazing daggers as they shifted to the glass Piper held and the nerve in her cheek began to shake. When Alex raised her gaze to the blonde’s face, Piper stepped back in alarm from the unexplainable violence glittering in the brunette’s eyes. With her eyes on Piper, Alex took the glass from her hand. “Thank you.” She said a split second before the glass dropped from her hand and broke.  
Piper uttered an alarmed cry and whirled around, looking for something to use in wiping the wet table.  
“Don’t bother.” Alex snapped, catching Piper’s elbow and jerking her roughly around. “It doesn’t matter.”  
“Doesn’t matter?” Piper asked in confusion.   
Softly and without any emotion, the brunette said. “Nothing matters.”  
“But..”  
“Let’s eat, Piper.”  
Swallowing her rising panic, Piper nodded. She had gotten a little used to the brunette’s moods, and reasoned to herself that maybe, something bad just happened with work or a business deal gone bad. So in order to try to set aside her nervousness, she thought of giving the brunette what she had been planning to give her on her birthday. The only thing that was with her, when she was taken from her home. This thing means so much to her because her mom gave it to her. Aside from the plan that she’s secretly planning for the brunette’s birthday, Piper wanted her to have this, to show the brunette how much she means to her.  
“No, wait!” Piper burst out nervously and then shyly she added. “I have something I want to give you.”  
Poison? Alex thought sarcastically, watching the blonde.  
“This,” Piper said and held out a watch to her. “My mother gave this to me, she’s the greatest woman you’ll ever met, it’s very special and I want you to have it.”  
For one horrible moment, Piper actually thought Alex was going to refuse it from her and drop it carelessly into the table. “Thank you.” Alex said in a curt indifference. “I doubt this watch still works, but I’d like you to know it’s thirty minutes past dinner time. Can we just eat?”  
If Alex had slapped her, Piper could not have been more hurt or bewildered. But not saying anything, she walked to the table so they can start eating.  
Throughout the meal, Piper tried vainly to convince herself she was just imagining the brunette’s complete change in attitude.  
When Alex did not take her to her bed and make love to her that night, Piper lay awake, trying to understand what she had done or what could have happened to make Alex that way.  
When the brunette did not speak to her all throughout the day the next day, except when absolutely necessary during meals, Piper endured it throughout the entire day before she finally swallowed her pride and asked Alex what she had done wrong.  
Alex looked up from the work on her desk, furious at the blonde’s interruption, her eyes raking all over Piper “Wrong?” Alex repeated in the cool, voice of a complete stranger. “There is nothing wrong, Piper, except your timing. I’m working on a very important matter.”  
“If you don’t mind...” Alex said nodding to the door.  
Piper did not attempt to talk to the brunette until that night when she was walking outside the lawn, Alex’s favourite spot, when Piper heard Alex’s voice inside the house probably saying goodnight to Miss Claudette. Summoning all her courage, she went into the house and slowly walked into the brunette’s room.  
Alex was removing her shirt when she saw Piper’s reflection in the mirror and her head turned to her. “What do you want?”  
“Alex, please,” Piper burst out, walking toward the brunette, an alluring beauty, with her blonde hair shimmering into the night, her slim, thin pink satin nightgown shining and showing her every curves as she moved near Alex. “Why are you being this way? Tell me? Did I do something to make you angry?”  
Alex gazed down into her blue eyes and her hands clenched at her sides as she fought the simultaneous impulse to strangle her for her betrayal and the stronger urge to take the blonde to her bed and pretend just for an hour that she was still the woman that cared for her, the woman that even loved her back. She wanted to hold her and kiss her, to wrap her around her like a blanket and lose herself in her, to blot out the last days of hell. Just for an hour. But she couldn’t, because she couldn’t blot out the tormenting picture of her and Larry exchanging notes to each other and plotting against her. Not even for an hour. Or a minute.  
“I’m not angry Piper,” Alex said frigidly. “Now please get out of my room. When I want your company, I’ll let you know.”  
“I see.” Piper whispered, and turned away.  
But all she saw were the tears that blinded her as she walked with painful dignity back to her own room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me what you think, it really helps me write.


	20. Chapter 20

Piper stared mindlessly at the book she was reading in her lap, her long fingers still, her heart as dark and heavy as the sky beyond the open curtains at the small library Alex had in her house. For four days and nights, Alex had been a stranger to her; a cold, forbidding woman who looked at her with icy blatant disinterest or contempt, on those rare occasions when she looked at her at all. It was as if someone else now inhabited her body, someone Piper didn’t know, someone she sometimes saw watching her with an expression in her eyes that was so malign it made her shiver. Piper had decided last night that even though she loved the brunette very much, so much that it practically hurt, she was going to tell her that she’s leaving. The brunette has told her that she’s free to go anytime she wants and even though there’s still some danger out there, Alex promised that she will forever have her protection. She didn’t want to leave. But she can’t take the heartache every time the brunette is in one of her unpredictable change of moods. Fighting a person that’s hurt with gentleness she can do, that’s what she has been doing all this time but enduring something that she doesn’t understand or know how to deal with, she can’t. She’s leaving even if it breaks her heart.   
She will tell Alex everything about Larry and then she will go back to her home. Just thinking about seeing her family again made Piper smile. She doesn’t miss them as much now because Alex allows her to talk to them on the phone and even talk to them on cam anytime she wants, that’s why she can bear being this far and living on a very unfamiliar land with a gorgeous seductive, thoughtful, unpredictable and unbearable woman all these times.  
But before going, she will have to do something first. She had been planning this for days now and she’s determined to see it through.  
/  
Not even Miss Claudette’s cheerful presence had any effect on lightening the heavy atmosphere at the island. She had come to Piper’s rescue and the blonde explained everything to the old lady; what she had been going through and Miss Claudette, saddened and not wanting Piper to leave because she has seen the changes that she has on her Mistress, took it to herself to help. If only she could wring her Mistress’ neck for treating Piper this way, she would.  
But all of Miss Claudette’s transparent, obvious attempts to engage Alex in a friendly conversation one afternoon when they were having coffee yielded nothing but courteous, extremely brief responses. And Piper’s attempts to pretend that was normal and natural fooled no one into believing that everything was alright between the two of them. The entire household was nervously aware of the strained atmosphere in the house, also because Alex didn’t try to hide her foul mood with how she was snapping at her servants. Piper could see in everyone’s eyes, like they’re begging her to do something because they have seen that only she can make their mistress happy.  
In the silence of the room, Miss Claudette’s hearty voice boomed out, making Piper jump. “Alex, this weather we have been having these days is such a drag!” Lifting her brows in an inquiring expression, hoping for an answer that might lead to further conversation, the old lady waited.  
Alex raised her eyes from the book she always used and writes on when she’s working and replied. “Yeah.”  
“It’s so hot, it hasn’t rained for a long time.”  
“Yeah, it hasn’t.” Alex agreed, her face and voice devoid of expression.  
Unnerved and undaunted, Miss Claudette said, “It’s warm. At least it’s a good weather for our crops.”  
“Is it?” Alex replied in a tone that positively discouraged any additional attempt at conversation.  
“Uhh.. yes.” Miss Claudette replied, retreating back in her chair and shooting Piper a desperate look.  
“Do you know what time it is?” Piper asked, wanting so much to go back to her room.  
“Alex looked up at her and said curtly, “No.”  
“You should always be wearing a watch Alex,” The old lady suggested.  
Piper quickly looked away to hide her hurt that Alex didn’t wear the watch that her mother had given her and just casted it aside.  
“It’s almost past seven already.” Miss Claudette provided helpfully. “I should help in preparing dinner now.”  
Alex slammed her book shut. “Yes.” She said bluntly “You should.”  
Unable to bear the atmosphere for another moment, Piper said, “If you will excuse me, I think I will go to my room now.”  
/  
“Is everything ready at the stream, Maria?” Piper asked the next afternoon when Maria, the maid, came to her room. They had become close friends already, aside from Miss Claudette, Maria was the second person that Piper treated as a really close friend.  
“Yes it is.” Maria announced bitterly. “Not that Miss Alex deserves a birthday party. After the way she’s been treating you, in all honesty, she deserves a kick in the ass.”  
Piper tucked her hair beneath the sky blue bonnet that was given to her by Alex before when they went for a stroll at the beach and did not argue the issue. Piper had conceived the idea for a small surprise party for Alex’s birthday the day they had strolled out to the brunette’s mango tree. It was one of the happiest days of what was apparently a short lived period of bliss in her stay here on the island.  
After days of enduring Alex’s frigid, unexplainable attitude, Piper’s face was pale and she was always on the verge of tears. Her chest ached from holding them back and her heart ached because she couldn’t find a reason for Alex’s behaviour. But as the hour of her surprise approached, she coudn’t stop the hope inside her that maybe when Alex sees what she had planned with Miss Claudette and Maria, she might either become the woman she had been when they were together at the stream, or at least tell her what was bothering her. Thank God that John was almost always with Alex these days that he couldn’t check what was happening on all of the grounds and Piper can execute this surprise without ruining it for the brunette.  
“The whole staff has been talking about the way Miss Alex has been acting lately..” Maria continued angrily. “And the way she has been acting to you, hardly speaking to you and locking herself away in her office night and day, never spending time with you anymore...”  
“Maria please!” Piper cried. “Don’t spoil today for me with all that.”  
Contrite but still determined to vent against the woman who was causing the dark shadows beneath Piper’s eyes, Maria said. “I don’t need to spoil it for you, the miss will do that if she can. I’m surprised she even agreed to go with you to the stream when you told her you have something to show her.”  
“Me too.” Piper said with an attempt to smile that immediately became a little frown. She had confronted Alex in her office this morning when she was having a meeting with John and she had fully expected to have to beg the brunette to come with her for a ride alone at the end of her property. At first Alex glanced at John and then abruptly agreed.  
/  
A few drops of blood spurted out of Larry’s mouth when Mendez slapped him hard with a gun on his face, angrily shouting at him.  
“You better get this right this time, you stupid coward! We don’t have much time left. She better bring her to that spot later or else I’m going to slit your throat very slowly and feed it to the fishes!” Mendez was planning a more subtle way to kill Alex, one that she didn’t see coming. Maybe toy with her a little and watch her suffer but the boss was already asking what was taking him so long to get the lost package back. If he doesn’t get it then he will be killed too. Damn Alex for bringing him into this as well. He will kill that bitch, but not before he makes her confess where she hid it.  
“She will be there. The person I paid to give her the note said that she left it on her bed. She said Piper is so in love with Alex, she wouldn’t want her to get hurt. She’s very sure that Piper will bring Alex there and tell her everything about it.”  
“Be ready and wait for my instructions. We’re doing it today.” Mendez said full of hatred and disgust.  
/  
“Everything is ready.” John said, reassuring Alex in the brunette’s bedroom. “The men are stationed in the trees along the route to the stream and around it. They’ve been there for three hours, since twenty minutes after Piper suggested that you go for a ride alone with her. I instructed my men to remain there, out of sight, until the person or the people who want to kill you reveal themselves. Since they can’t leave their positions without being seen, they can’t report back to me, and I don’t know what they’re seeing. God knows why they chose the stream when it’s so wide and open.  
“I do not believe this is happening.” Alex bit out, shrugging into a fresh shirt. She stopped, momentarily struck by the absurdity of putting on a fresh shirt so that she would look nice when Piper led her into a trap meant to kill her.  
“It’s happening.” John said. “And it’s a trap. I could tell it from the sound of Piper’s voice and the look in her eyes when she asked you to ride out with her this afternoon. She was nervous and she was lying. I watched her eyes. Eyes don’t lie.”  
Alex regarded her friend and long time bodyguard with a bitter look, remembering how deceptively, radiantly beautiful Piper’s eyes had once seemed to her. “That’s a myth,” She said with contempt. “A myth I used to believe.”  
“The note we got inside Piper’s room an hour ago is no myth.” John reminded Alex with conviction. Piper was out already. She seemed busy with something, maybe preparing snack for the ride that she was planning with Alex, that John had time to check anything suspicious that could be in the blonde’s room. He had been doing this whenever Piper went out of her room. He couldn’t let what happened before happened again because he was negligent. “They’re so confident we’re ignorant of their plans that they’re becoming so careless.”  
If you want to bring an end to this, bring Alex to the end of her property, near the stream this afternoon. I’ll be waiting for you.  
An hour ago the pain of reading that had nearly sent her to her knees but now she felt nothing. She was past the point of feeling anything, even a sense of betrayal or fear as she prepared to face her own assassins. Now all she wanted was to have this thing over with so she could somehow begin blotting Piper out of her heart and mind.  
Last night she had lain awake in her bed, fighting the stupid urge to go to her and hold her, to give her money and warn her to escape, for whether or not she and Larry or Mendez succeeded in killing her today. John already promised what he would do to all of them when he caught them. They would all be sent to rot in jail, except for Mendez who she will return to the bosses so that they could deal accordingly to him and propose a deal to them to leave her to live peacefully alone if she will return the package with a great sum of money included with it. If you talk about large amount of money to the bosses then they will listen. That’s why she has been working so hard here because she had everything planned already and she was just waiting for the right time to do it while her contacts in the city had the package secured for her. It’s time for her to come out from laying low and get her life back. She was hoping that that life would be with Piper but she is now slowly killing that dream with all these nightmares happening in real life.  
The image of Piper rotting in jail was almost more than Alex could bear, even now, when she was about to become her target.  
Piper was waiting for her in the hallway, looking as pretty and innocent as the flowers in a blue blouse and a skirt. She turned and watched her walked to her, her smile bright and eager. Piper was smiling, Alex realized with a nearly uncontrollable surge of fury, because the beautiful woman she once loved with all her life intended to get rid of her for good.  
“Ready to go?” Piper asked brightly.  
Without a word, she nodded, and they walked out to the golf cart that was waiting for them outside.  
Beneath the fringe of her lashes, Piper stole another sideways peek at Alex’s face as they drove down the path through the trees that would soon open up into a wide, lush green field that bordered the stream. Despite Alex’s outwardly relaxed pose as she lounged back, Piper saw Alex’s gaze moved restlessly over the trees, as if she were watching for something, waiting for it.  
In fact, Piper was starting to wonder if Alex had somehow found out about her “surprise” and was expecting for everyone to burst out of the trees. When their cart broke into the field, and Alex’s open shock at what she saw that greeted her removed any possibility that she knew already.  
“What the...?” The brunette breathed in amazement as she saw the sight before her. Colorful banners were waving in the trees and all her servants and tenants and their children were gathered there near the stream, at the back end of her property, dressed in their best clothing, smiling at her. Off to her left, she saw Miss Claudette and her niece that just lives near here. Her maid Maria and her family, even her “witch” mother was there to join the party and other faces that were very much familiar because they all worked for her. On her right side at the far side of the stream, a large table with two big chairs had been set up and half a dozen other smaller chairs.   
Alex’s cart moved toward the center of the field and all the people greeted her with a happy birthday.  
Stopping the cart, Alex turned sharply to Piper. “What is this all about?”  
The eyes the blonde raised to her were full of love and uncertainty and hope. “Happy Birthday.” Piper said tenderly.  
Alex simply looked at her, her jaw tight and said absolutely nothing. Smiling uncertainly, the blonde explained. “I thought of giving a special kind of birthday and I invited all the people who work for you and their families. It’s a good way to get to know the people who work for you a little.  
Alex looked around at the crowd in bewilderment. Could this whole thing be a setting for murder? She wondered. Before the day is out, she would find out.  
“I thought it would be nice if the people who have been working for you all their lives would get a chance to celebrate with you your special day.” Piper added a little hesitantly, not certain how willing Alex might be to mingle with her servants but she remembered how she was when she was a little girl. Growing up all alone, forbidden to spend time with any of the servant’s children.  
“Yeah, fine.” Alex said and without another word she led Piper to their table but stopped every once in a while to greet the people that were throwing her greetings.  
By the time the sun began to sink beneath the tree tops and torches had been lit because it was starting to get dark, the people who had been there enjoying the party were all in rare high spirits, laughing, and drinking different kinds of refreshments. There were little presentations and games that the children prepared together with their families that were presented for Miss Alex. It was the first time that they had done this and they were all excited to show their hidden talents all in honor of their Mistress’s birthday.  
With quiet pride, Piper stood on the sidelines, her heart welling with tenderness while she watched Alex laughing with the children that brought her flowers after they sang and she even called one of the little girls a princess and told her that she had the most beautiful voice she had ever heard. But she had never once turned to glance at Piper. It was as if she was exerting herself to participate solely for the sake of her servants.  
~~~~  
“What the fuck! What hell is all of this?!” Mendez hissed at Larry when he saw what was happening at the spot that they were supposed to meet Piper and Alex alone. A lot of people were at the scene celebrating something and he could see Piper and Alex at the far end of the field.  
Together with Larry, he also had another man with him, a very ruthless assassin that was also on his payroll, they slowly tracked the path on the way to the back end of Alex’s vast property and they were surprised to see what they discovered on the planned spot. It’s good that they were all wearing very inconspicuous clothes so that they would blend in with the surroundings and it also helped that there were a lot of trees around.  
“There’s so many people here. We can’t risk to be found out.” Larry whispered.  
“There’s no backing down now. They have no idea what’s upon them. We’ll wait till it gets dark and strike when I see a chance. We’ll stay hidden till then.” Mendez said, his eyes full of hunger to strike his vengeance.   
~~~~  
Helping herself to another glass of wine from the table, Alex leaned her shoulder against a tree, her expression thoughtful as she stood at the perimeter of the woods, watching Piper as the blonde’s gaze searched the crowd, obviously looking for her. Piper had been watching her all night, Alex knew. The blonde had been wearing a baffled, uneasy expression as if she expected her to be more overjoyed with her birthday celebration.  
Alex looked at Piper and she saw her laugh at something Maria said. She could almost hear the music of her laughter and even when it was getting a little dark she could almost see the way her eyes lit when she laughed. Piper was a murderess. Even as she thought, her heart screamed a protest that her mind could no longer override. “I don’t believe it!” Alex bit out in a soft, furious whisper. The girl who had planned all this could not be planning her murder. The girl who had held her in the night and teased her while they fished at the stream and shyly presented her with her mother’s treasured watch could not possibly be trying to murder her.  
“Alex.” John’s urgent voice stopped Alex as she straightened, intending to walk over to the other guests who are talking near the buffet table. “I am insisting that you leave now.” John whispered, falling into a step beside her.  
“Don’t be stupid,” Alex snapped, completely out of patience with John and his theories. “Piper was planning a surprise party, not a trap to kill me. Mendez and Larry might be after me but Piper has nothing to do with it.”  
“There’s no time to argue about all that here,” John said angrily. “It will be very dark in a few more minutes and my men aren’t owls. They can’t see in the dark. I’ve sent them ahead to position themselves along your route home.”  
“Since it’s already too late to reach the house before it gets dark, I don’t see what difference it makes if I stay here for a little while. You go ahead and I’ll be right behind you.”  
Piper was looking at the crowd’s cheerful faces, scanning the surroundings when her gaze stopped on one disturbing face that wasn’t cheerful at all that was standing just behind a tree at the back. Suddenly for no reason at all, her heart started to race and she couldn’t explain why she felt nervous.  
Piper’s attention wandered, nervously she glanced around the open field, looking for the man in the black shirt whom she saw behind the tree, who seemed to have vanished. A few minutes later without realizing what she was doing, she began taking inventory of those people she knew, watching to make certain they were all in her sight. She looked for John and could not see him, then she anxiously sought out Alex and saw her standing at the perimeter of the woods, her shoulder propped against a tree, drinking wine and watching the party.  
Alex saw her looking at her and the brunette nodded slightly. The sweet tentative smile Piper sent Alex made her ache with uncertainty and regret. Alex raised her glass to her in silence, tipping a toast at the blonde, then froze at the sound of a voice in the darkness behind her. “There’s a gun pointing straight at your head right now and another one pointing at your blonde right there. Now move backwards towards the sound of my voice, and slowly walk back with me into the woods. Don’t you dare scream, bitch, or I’ll blow hers and your brains out”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you think its worth it, please leave a review


	21. Chapter 21

Alex tensed and slowly lowered the glass of wine. Relief, not fear, surged through her bloodstream as she turned toward the voice. She was ready for this long awaited confrontation with her assailants. Not for an instant did she believe Piper was in any danger, that had merely been a ploy to make her obey.  
Two paces brought her into the darkness of the woods and another pace ahead she saw the deadly gleam of a revolver. “Where are we going?” she asked the shadowy figure holding the gun.  
“To a little hut down this path just outside your property. Now get infront of me and start walking!”  
With her alert senses, Alex moved another step forward onto the path, her right hand tightening on the glass of wine. “What will I do with this?” she asked with feigned meekness, turning slightly and lifting her right hand.  
The man glanced at the object in her hand for a split second and that’s all that Alex needed. She flung the contents of the glass in the startled man’s eyes and simultaneously smashed the glass against the man’s jaw and temple with a force that sent him to his knees. Bending down, Alex snatched the crook’s gun from the ground, pushed the man’s shoulders and told him to get up from his feet. “Start walking you son of a bitch! We’re going to take that little stroll you wanted!”  
The man swayed slightly and Alex gave him an impatient shove that sent him staggering to the ground. Reaching from her own pockets, Alex felt for the small gun she’d been carrying since this whole thing started. Realizing that it must have fallen when she bent over her captive, she tightened her grip on the gun that she got from her captive.  
Five minutes later the dark shape of an old hut loomed up at the end of the path. She had never been into this part of the woods so she didn’t know who wasthere. “How many are inside?” Alex demanded, even though there was no light showing from the inside.  
“No one is there.” The man grunted, and then he gasped as he felt the cold gun pressing against his neck. “One or two. I don’t know.” He said quickly.  
Alex’s voice was cold. “When we get to the door, tell them you have me and to light something. Say anything else and I’ll blow your head off.”  
“Right!” the man gasped, stumbling slightly as he rushed up the steps. “I’ve got her!” he called out in a low frightened voice as he kicked at the door with his feet. It swung open sounding rusty and squeaking. “Light a lamp, it’s black as pitch in here.” He added while standing in the doorway.  
There was a sound of a shadow bending toward a lantern and a light flickering. In one swift motion, Alex struck the crook’s skull with the butt of her gun and sent him sprawling to the floor, unconscious.  
The face staring back at her in the lantern’s glow filled Alex with so much disgust.  
“Alex!” Larry said wildly.  
“Why are you working with Mendez, Larry?” Her voice devoid of all emotions while pointing her gun at him  
“He threatened me Alex. I swear I had no choice. He made us do it. We made a plot against you, to have you killed. Slowly and where it will hurt you the most because he wants to see you suffer. That’s when I came to Piper to ask her help----” Larry said with his voice stammering.  
“Shut up!” Alex couldn’t hear any of it anymore.; how Piper was involved in all of this. Her heart was breaking as it is.   
The word “we” brought her head sharply. And then it dawned on her who he was probably waiting for, and she felt the first sparks of fury begin to ignite inside her. Mendez, wherever he was, and Piper were apparently expected here to see that she was caught and properly finished off this time.  
“Since you’re obviously expecting reinforcement, why don’t we sit down and wait for their arrival.”  
/  
“Miss Claudette,” Piper said a little desperately. “Do you see Alex anywhere? Or a man with a black shirt?”  
“Piper for goodness sake,” The old lady said. “Why are you constantly fidgeting and asking me to look for people? Alex might just be somewhere nearby, you can be sure of that. She was there by that tree, drinking a glass wine a moment ago.”  
Piper apologized, tried to sit still and remained calm, but after a few minutes she could not get the rising panic out of her system.  
“Where are you going, my dear?” The old lady asked when Piper abruptly stood up.  
“To look for Alex.” Piper said with a little smile. “I want to make sure if she’s alright.”  
“You really do care for her, don’t you?” Miss Claudette asked, understanding well that it’s more than care that Piper felt for her mistress.  
Piper nodded, too uneasy about Alex’s whereabouts to talk more about her feelings for the brunette.  
Her gaze shifted uneasily through the crowd as she began walking toward the place where she had last seen her. John was nowhere to seen but Maria was walking toward her.  
“Wonderful party, Piper.” Maria said with a grin. “I’ve never had such a good time.”  
‘Thank you. Have.. Have you seen Alex? Or John?”  
“Not in the last fifteen minutes. Do you want me to look for them?”  
“Yes please.” Piper said, raking her hand through her hair. “I’m having weird thoughts tonight.” Piper said apologetically. “I keep imagining things, earlier today I actually saw a man up in one of the trees over there. And now Alex seems to have disappeared.”  
Maria said in a soothing voice, “I saw them together awhile ago. I’ll find them and tell you immediately.”  
Piper thanked Maria and walked toward the table where they placed all the beverages and wines then walked over the tree where Alex had been standing. With a last glance at the partygoers at the stream, she turned toward the woods and hesitantly began walking down the narrow path going outside Alex’s property. Telling herself she was being silly for being so paranoid, she stopped after a few paces and looked around her, listening for any sounds that might be Alex but the sounds of laughter and music are all she could hear.  
“Alex.” She called. When there was no answer, she bit her lip, her forehead formed worried lines. Intending to go back to the party, she started to turn and it was then that she saw the shattered glass of wine in the path of her feet.  
“Oh my God!” she whispered, looking at the broken glass and wildly looked around, hoping to see Alex lying in the path, passed out from too much drinking but instead she saw a gleaming gun on the side of the path.  
Snatching it up, Piper turned around and let out a scream as she collided with a slender body. “Maria! Thank God it’s you!” she cried.  
“What’s wrong?”Maria said, gripping her shoulder hard in anxiety as she tried to steady the blonde.  
“I found Alex’s glass of wine here and a gun on the ground near it.” Piper said her voice and body trembling with terror.  
“I’ll go ask for help. Go back to the stream fast. I’ll get back as fast as I can!” Maria said.  
But rather than go back to the party intending to get help, Piper ran down the path into the woods with the gun intending to find Alex, not bearing the thought that she could be in any danger. She can’t. NO.  
Piper was breathless when she reached a small hut down the inside path of the woods. She put her ears to the door, listening for sounds. Hearing none, she cautiously tried to open the door, slowly, a few inches, a familiar figure peeked through the opening, then her eyes widened when her gaze came to the gun pointing directly at her.  
“Don’t be shy, babe.” Alex said in a voice so low it was a deadly whisper. “Come inside. We’ve been waiting for you.”  
“Are you coming to see if I’ve been safely disposed of, are you?! There’s a bulge in your pocket, i know it’s a gun. Throw it on the floor!”  
“Alex..”  
“Do it!” Alex said savagely. Piper obeyed, very confused on what was going on.  
More than anyone, her rage was directed at the girl she had been obsessed with, the scheming liar who had made her believe she loved her, the little bitch who had lain in her arms and surrendered her eager body to her, the beautiful, laughing unforgettable girl who had made her believe that heaven was a stream with a picnic basket beside it.  
Alex saw Piper look at Larry and she was shocked to see who she thought was her friend there with bruises on his face and Alex hated the glint of pity that she saw in Piper’s eyes.  
“Don’t be shy, go to him. He’s been waiting for you.” Alex said in disgust.  
Piper walked closer and stared at the fallen man wearing a black shirt, then rushed forward as Alex stood up.   
“I knew it was him! I knew it!” Piper cried as she felt relieved that she was right with her suspicions all along.  
But she cried out in surprise as Alex wrapped her hand in her blonde hair and yanked her head back. Her face only inches from hers. “Of course you knew it was him, you murderous bitch!” and pushed Piper to the floor.  
For a moment, Piper simply sat there, staring at Alex through widened eyes, unable to understand what was happening.  
“Are you afraid, babe?” Alex mocked. “Where you are going there are no windows and I’ll make sure you’ll be locked in there for a long time.”  
“Alex, why are you doing this?” Piper cried.  
“I want answers not questions!” Alex snapped. Estimating that it might be a few moments now that John will realize that she’s missing.  
“While we are waiting, I suppose you fill me in with some details. What else has been poisoned in my house?”  
Piper’s eyes widened. Disbelief and fury drove Piper slowly to her feet. “You think we’ve been trying to poison you?” Piper breathed, staring at Alex as if she had kicked her in the stomach.  
“I know you have.” Alex countered.  
“Actually----“ Mendez drawled from the doorway, his gun pointing straight at Alex’s head. “You’re wrong. As this hysterical and coward Larry has started to confess, I’m the one who conceived these effective, admittedly unsuccessful, plots to get rid of you. Larry does not have the stomach for murder and he’s so stupid to even think he’d be successful in thinking that we would get Piper on our side. Actually I don’t even need all of these useless piece shit but I wanted to make it hard for you first like what you caused me before I kill you. Drop your gun, Alex. I have to kill you anyway but if you don’t drop it, I’ll kill your charming blonde first, while you watch.”  
Her heart hammered fast, Alex tossed her gun to the side.  
“Mendez, no! That was not our plan. You said no one else would be harmed!” Larry begged.  
But while Mendez was pointing his gun at Alex, Piper suddenly moved beside the brunette when her gaze riveted on the man on the floor reaching up for a gun and behind him she saw John stepping into the doorway, slowly raising a gun. “Alex!” Piper screamed and because there was no other way to protect Alex from all of them, Piper threw herself infront of Alex at the exact moment two guns were fired.  
Alex’s arms automatically clasped Piper to her as Mendez collapsed, shot by John from the doorway, and the crook on the floor rolled over, clutching the wound in his arm. It happened so fast that it took a moment before Alex realized that Piper was suddenly very heavy, a dead weight sliding down her body. Tightening her arms, she tipped her chin, but what she saw struck terror in her heart. Piper’s head had fallen back, lolling limply on her shoulders, and blood was streaming from a wound at her temple. “GET A DOCTOR!” Alex shouted at John and lowered the blonde to the floor.  
Her heart hammered with fear, she knelt beside her, ripped of her shirt and tore it into strips, binding the ugly wound in Piper’s head. Before she had half finished blood had already soaked and spread around and through the white linen and the blonde’s color was rapidly turning pale.  
“Oh my God!” she whispered. “Oh my God!” Alex had seen men die countless times when she was still working for the syndicate, she knew the signs of a hopelessly fatal wound, and even while her mind was recognizing that Piper would not live this injury, she snatched the blonde into her arms. Cradling her into her chest, John immediately ran into Piper’s aid and carried her down the path back to the stream. Alex’s heart was hammering in frantic rhythm. Don’t die... don’t die... don’t die...  
They burst into the party with John carrying her limp, beloved blonde. Oblivious to the stricken faces of the party goers, who stood in quiet watchful groups, John laid Piper gently into Alex’s lap in the cart to take them back into the house.  
All the women and men whom Piper had helped and befriended gazed lovingly at her still form in the cart as they drove off, the soft sounds of weeping began to fill the property where only minutes before it was filled of gaiety that Piper had brought to them.  
/  
The sad expression of Dr. Red’s face, the only known physician in the island as she stepped outside Piper’s room made agony scream through Alex’s brain.  
“I’m sorry” she said quietly to the distraught group waiting outside the room. “There was nothing I could do to save her. When I got here, she was already beyond hope and beyond reach.”  
Miss Claudette pressed her handkerchief to her face and turned into John’s arms, weeping while Maria sought comfort from the other maid’s embrace.   
Turning to Alex, Dr. Red continued. “You can go in now and say your goodbyes, but she won’t hear you. She’s in a deep coma. In a few minutes, a few hours at most, she’ll slip away quietly.”  
At the expression of raw anguish on the brunette’s face, Dr. Red added gently, “She’ll feel no pain, Miss Alex, I promise you.”  
Alex couldn’t even speak as the muscle in her throat constricted and she just stared wordlessly at the doctor and walked slowly into Piper’s room.  
A small lamp was lit up beside her bed and she lay as still and white as death on her pillows, her breathing so shallow it was almost unseen.  
Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Alex sat in the chair beside Piper’s bed and gazed down into her still beautiful face, wanting to memorize every line of it. She had such smooth skin, Alex thought achingly and such long lashes, like fans against her cheeks.  
......She wasn’t breathing!  
“No don’t die!” Alex cried hoarsely as she grabbed the blonde’s limp hand, frantically feeling for a pulse. “Don’t, don’t.” She found a pulse, thread and faint but still there and suddenly, she couldn’t stop talking to her. “Don’t leave me, Piper.” Alex pleaded. Pleaded like she never had before. Pleading was never in her vocabulary. If she wanted something, she would take it. But here she was. “There are thousand things I want to tell you, places I want to show you. But I can’t if you go away. Piper please, baby... please don’t go away. Listen to me” Alex begged urgently, somehow convinced that the blonde would stay alive if she understood how much she meant to Alex. “Listen to what my life was like before you came into it, when I bumped into you in that airport... Life was empty. Colorless. And then you happened to me and suddenly I felt feelings I never believed existed, and I saw things I’d never seen before. You don’t believe that, do you babe? But it’s true and I can prove it.” Her deep voice ragged with unshed tears, Alex recited her proof. “The flowers near the shore are blue” she told the blonde. “The ones by the stream are white and the once behind the house are red.”  
Lifting Piper’s hand to her face, she rubbed her cheek against it. “I love you, Piper. I love you so much... I’ve never loved anyone like this before.”  
Tears choked her voice and made it a tormented whisper. “I love you and if you die I’ll never be able to tell you that again.”  
Driven by anger and desperation, Alex clutched Piper’s hand tighter and abruptly switched from pleas to stern threats. “Piper, don’t you dare leave me! If you do, I’ll let Miss Claudette go and no longer work for me! And I’ll fire Maria. I swear I will! I know you’re very close to them. Do you hear me!? And then.. and then I’ll make Nikki a Mistress of this household, I know how the servants hate her but I know she’d love to fill those shoes, that you’re slowly filling in.”  
The minutes became hours and then another and still Alex kept talking, switching from mindless please to threats and then, as hope finally began to within her, she began to speak her soul, something she never ever does. “Think of my soul, Piper. It’s black and without you here to make me mend my ways, I’ll undoubtedly slip back into that darkness again.”  
She waited, listening, watching, Piper’s lifeless hand gripped in her as she tried to infuse her own strength into the blonde and then suddenly, the determination and hope that had driven her to talk non stop to Piper crumbled. Despair wrapped around Alex’s heart, suffocating her and tears stung her eyes. Gathering Piper’s limp body into her arms, Alex laid her cheeks against Piper’s, her shoulders racked with sobs.  
“Piper..” Alex wept rocking her in her arms like a baby, “I want to go with you.. take me with you...” she said desperately, almost losing her mind. And then she felt something... a whispered word against her cheek.  
Alex’s breath stopped and she jerked her head back, her eyes frantically searching Piper’s face as she gently lowered the blonde against the pillows. “Piper?” Alex implore achingly, bending over her and just when she thought she had imagined the faint flutter of the blonde’s eyelids, Piper’s pale lips parted, trying to form a word.  
“Tell me baby” Alex said desperately, leaning close to her. “Say something, please...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end.  
> Thats the end of the story. Lol I’m kidding. There will be a last chapter. Revelations and declarations and forgiveness. And maybe an epilogue or whatever, it depends. I have gone thru hell writing this chapter because i was so busy, uninspired, sick, i ddnt know what to write But here it is. At least i managed.  
> Please leave a review if you think its worth it. Message me on tumblr for your suggestions.


	22. Chapter 22

Thank you to all the readers who liked this story and journeyed with me. I know its not that easy to read this story with its dark theme. Here`s the final chapter. 

 

Piper swallowed and when she spoke, her words were so faint they were barely inaudible, "What, Piper?" Alex pleaded urgently, not certain what the blonde was saying.Again Piper whispered, and this time Alex`s eyes widened as she finally understood. The brunette stared at Piper`s hands that she was holding tightly in her hands then her shoulders started to shake as she began to laugh. It started low and it grew big that brought Miss Claudette, the doctor and John running into the room, thinking obviously that Alex`s grief had made her lose her mind.  
"Miss Claudette" Alex said with a grin, holding Piper`s hand in hers, "Piper thinks," she said, her shoulders beginning to rock with laughter again, "that Nikki has very small feet."

/

Piper turned her head on the pillows as Alex walked through the doorway outside her room, It had been two days since she`d been injured, two days and nights of drifting in and out of consciousness. Each time she had opened her eyes, the brunette was sitting beside her bed, keeping a silent vigil, Alex`s fear for her can be seen deeply into her very worried features.  
Now that she was fully conscious, she would have liked to hear Alex talk to her in that same tender tone she`d used these past two days, or to look at her with love burning in her eyes. Unfortunately, however, Alex`s features were perfectly composed and completely unreadable this morning, so much, that Piper wondered if she had only dreamed the tender, tormenting sweetness of the brunette`s words to her when she thought Piper was dying.  
"How are you feeling?" the brunette asked, her deep voice conveying only polite concern as she came to stand beside her bed.  
"I feel fine, thank you." Piper returned with the same courtesy. "A little tired, that`s all."  
"I imagine you have some questions you`d like answered, about what happened two days ago."  
What Piper wanted was for the brunette to put her arms around her and tell her that she loved her. "Yes, of course," she replied, wary of the brunette`s confusing mood.

"To be brief, a year and half ago, Larry caught one of his servants, stealing from him, an island local named Lorna. He did not send her to jail but as you may have understand now, he used her to get to me in exchange for a debt she had by not being sent to prison."  
"Mendez found Larry and also used him by promising to pay him the amount he owed to the organization that his family belonged to that Larry squandered over the years. They had been planning to get to you too, that`s why he kept asking you to see him."

"But I didn`t get through wit it..." Piper said softly, trying to explain herself with the little strength that she has.

"That I know and understand now." Alex said firmly, a glint of shame in her eyes for accusing Piper false things.

"When you didn`t come to meet Larry, they grew impatient and decided to plan something else. Larry reminded Lorna that she owed him big time and used it to blackmail her by placing poison into the wine that we brought to our picnic."

Piper looked at her in astonishment. "You did not tell me that they tried to poison you."

 

"Because we thought at that time that you were working with them. Despite all the good things that were happening to us, I remember you once telling me that you would do anything to get away from me and that I`m a monster"

Biting her lip Piper turned her face away from the brunette, but not before Alex saw the pain and accusation in the blonde`s eyes. She stood firmly from where she was standing, took a deep breath and continued.  
"A few days ago, one of the kitchen maid, named Tricia Miller died from drinking the wine that was brought back home from our picnic... the same wine you repeatedly tried to make me drink."

Piper`s gaze shot at her face, and Alex continued in a voice of harsh self-accusation. "John investigated the whole wine incident, and with the notes that we found Larry sent to you, and one of his men, overhearing the two of you talking seriously at the night of the party, it looked as if you were the only one who could have possibly placed that poison in it."

"Me?" Piper cried softly. "How could you think such a thing!"

"John`s witness was one of the maid who works on and off here when we need some assistance for the last year and her name, is Lorna." Alex finished. "She was the one who poisoned the wine at Mendez`s instruction. And the rest of the story you already know what has happened since then."

Piper swallowed painfully. "In your mind, you accused and convicted me of trying to murder you, based on an evidence as weak as that? Because Larry tried to talk to me, sent me notes and because an untrusted maid said I must have been the one who poisoned your wine?"

Inwardly, Alex flinched at the blonde`s words. "I did it base on all that and one of John`s men following your every move and theirs. You going alone at the end of the property and leaving Larry a note, which he did not intercepted and combined with everything else, made the evidence against you seem very strong."

"I understand" Piper said bleakly. she knew she had also failed to communicate toAlex at once about the note but to accuse her of trying to kill the brunette she could not understand and Alex knew it. Or perhaps Piper understood too well, Alex thought grimly. No doubt she clearly understood that she had failed in her promise to trust her and that she had repeatedly rejected the love that the blonde had to offer. Piper also understood, Alex knew bitterly, that Piper had risked her life for her sake and in return she had exchanged it with callousness and mistrust.

Alex gazed down at her the blonde`s beautiful pale face, knowing perfectly well that she deserved her hatred and contempt. Now that Piper is fully conscious of the true depth of her heartlessness and stupidity, Alex waited, half expecting her to get as far away from her as possible and disappear from her life.

When the blonde didn`t, Alex felt obliged to say the things she would be saying to her. "I realize my behavior to you has been unforgivable" The brunette started tightly, and the sound of her voice filled Piper with dread. "Naturally, I don`t expect you to still want to remain here, now thats everything`s back in order. I have settled everything with the Kubra and he no longer cares about me or you as long as the package is in his possession again together with a very large sum of money that I included in it. As soon as you`re well enough to leave here, I`ll give you a blank check that you can use to start over your life. If you ever need more..."  
Alex stopped and cleared her throat as if it was clogged with the unshed tears that was forming in her throat with just imagining Piper disappearing from her life.

"If you ever need more," she began again, her voice rough with emotion, "just tell me. Anything I have, I`m ready to give."

Piper listened to that speech with a mixture of tenderness and anger, and disbelief. She was about to reply when the brunette cleared her throat again and added, "I`ll be at my office, just call me anytime if you need anything."

Alex needed to get out of the room already. Pausing she gazed down at her, unconsciously memorizing every line of Piper`s face so that she would have it before her in the empty years that lay ahead of her. In silence, she looked at the blonde, knowing she represented every hope and every dream she cherished in her heart.

Forcing herself, she turned away and slowly went out of the door.

/

Alone in her elegant office after a day she had talked to Piper. Agonizingly thinking of the day that Piper would get well and leave the island.   
After two hours of drinking, Alex thought she couldn`t actually believe that Piper would want to banish her from her life would she? It might have been the effect of the vodka that she had consumed but it seemed to her.... it seemed somehow that Piper must have grown to really feel something for her too. A little maybe. Alex thought of the way the blonde had preferred to sit curled up in a chair in the library during the day while she worked and she read. She even helped in taking over the household needs. She had liked being near her. And she had damn well liked being with her in bed. No woman alive would have melted in her arms and tried in every way to give her back as much pleasure as she was giving her, if she wasn`t at least infatuated.

She had loved her desperately ever since, she had not. Alex knew that. But surely in the months that followed, in the shared hours of quiet talk and laughter and passionate lovemaking, surely she must have come to feel something for her.

Alex, drunk and restless got up and walked around her office. She went to her desk and slowly opened her drawer and looked at the thing inside it, glistening back at her. she had bought when Piper was still asleep and getting better. Thinking how stupid of her to think that such a thing would appease what she had done. But out of drunkenness she thought that this thing only belonged to Piper and no one else and before she leaves, she`s going to have it! 

/

Alex hesitated outside the room, her hand on the knob, her heart slamming with a combination of relief and dread. He had no idea how Piper would react to seeing her at this time, she`s probably even asleep and resting. But at that moment, all that mattered was being able to see her and give her what was inside Alex`s pocket.  
Opening the door, Alex stepped inside quietly, then closed it behind her. She saw that the room was dark and only the light inside the bathroom was giving light to the whole room. When she peeked inside, she saw Piper was in the big tub with her back to the room. Maria was hovering behind her, holding a soap and a wash cloth. Mesmerized, Alex simply stood there.  
She wanted to go to her and pull her, naked and wet into her arms, to absorb her into her body, to carry her to the bed and lose herself in her. at the same time, she didn`t feel worthy of even speaking to her, let alone touching her. She wasn`t worthy. How could one slender girl bear the weight of such cruelty that she had done. Alex drew a long deep breath.  
Maria glanced up and saw Alex walking toward the tub and gave her a scowl. The maid knows very well Piper by this time because the blonde had been confiding in her. Maria opened her mouth with the obvious intention of giving her a piece of her mind even she valued working for the tall woman but Alex gave her a curt nod of dismissal. Reluctantly she handed the brunette the soap and the cloth and silently left the room.

With aching gentleness, Alex soaped Piper`s back, carefully keeping her touch light and her hand out of her view.  
"That feels wonderful, Maria." Piper murmured as she bent forward and touched her legs. Normally she would bath alone but since she was shot and still recuperating, Maria had to help her to it and even simple things that she needs to do.  
Sleek and glistening with droplets of scented water streaming down her, Piper stood up from the tub and stepped out. She started to turn and reach behind her for the towel, but Maria, in an excess of compassionate helpfulness, was already gently drying her off.  
Alex toweled her neck, her soft shoulders and her trim back.  
"Thank you, Maria, I think I can manage to finish on my own. I will just eat my dinner here when it`s ready, ok? You can go back to the kitchen....."  
Turning, Piper reached for the towel. The color drained from her face and she swayed unsteadily as she saw the beautiful brunette saying nothing to her, but continued to dry her body. In a state of numb paralysis, she stood shock and still, incapable of saying anything also. When Alex toweled her stomach and thighs, Piper was a little aware that the brunette`s hand didn`t linger on her like those moments that she was lusting and hungry for her. Piper was trying to understand what Alex was doing. She was here but not speaking to her, not smiling even. She was not even touching her like a lover, but almost like a... a servant! An aching lump began to swell in Piper`s throat as she realized what Alex was doing. She was acting as her maid as a way of humbling herself to her.

Alex went in her thinking that she would just give her something but now, out of desperation, she was willing to do anything to change her mind if she can still do it.

Her hands were gentle as she forced the blonde down onto the chair beside the tub and without looking up at her, Alex knelt down on one knee and solemnly began to dry her calves. "Alex," Piper whispered brokenly. "please stop..."  
Forcing herself to look up the blondes eyes, Alex finally found her words and said, "When you were still recuperating, Maria told me, no actually scolded me. I didn1t know that maid of mine had a tongue as sharp as that, what she thought of me and told me about the watch you gave me that belonged to your mother and how close you were. I can`t wipe away the pain that cause you when she left but I wanted to give you this..."  
Alex took the thing out of her pocket and held her hand and Piper saw within it a long flat velvet case. Piper took it from Alex`s hand and with trembling fingers unfastened the latch.  
Lying on a bed of white satin, was a fine gold chain withe the largest diamond she had ever seen. It was cut in a the shape of a heart.   
"That was from my grandmother. I hope you like it. And I`ll leave you to..."  
"Alex, will you just shut up." Piper said with tears in her eyes that looks so tired from hearing all this wrong things from Alex.  
"Now that you`ve said all the things that you`ve said" Piper whispered with a sigh. "Do you think you could possibly say `I love you`? I`ve been waiting to hear that since the day I woke up and you...." Piper didn`t get to finish her whine because Alex, with a groan, pulled her into her arms and said.  
"I love you" the brunette said fiercely. "I love you,P she whispered softly burying her face into Piper`s blonde hair. "I love you" she groaned once again. "I love you, I love you, I love you....." Alex said for the last time when she finally lifted her lips from Piper several minutes later.

"Don`t leave me please. If you want to go back and see your family, you can but please don`t me."   
"I did thought of that, if you continued being stubborn and came to your senses a little too late" Piper said truthfully.

"If I ever think you are even considering of leaving me again, no matter how good your reasons, I`ll have you locked in your rooms and the doors barricaded, so help me God." Alex said tearfully as she lifts Piper`s foot again began to dry it.  
Her voice shaking, Piper asked, "Will you stay locked in here with me?"  
Alex raised the blonde`s foot to her jaw and tenderly laid her cheek against it, then turned her head and kissed it. "Yes." she whispered.

Did you like the ending or not. Please tell me what u think if you have time. Im thinking of writing a sequel or a different story. I would like to hear your feedback. you can message me on my tumblr. my username is dra-gusha. THank you guys!

**Author's Note:**

> message me on tumblr: dra-gusha for any questions


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